LIBRARY  OF 

ARCHITECTURE  AND 

ALLIED  ARTS 


Gift  of 

The  Heirs 

of 
R.  Germain  Hubby,  A. I. A 


GRAINING  AND 
MARBLING 

A  Series  of   Practical  Treatises 

ON 

MATERIAL,  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES  USED; 
GENERAL  OPERATIONS;  PREPARING  OIL 
GRAINING  COLORS;  MIXING;  RUBBING;  APPLY- 
ING DISTEMPER  COLORS;  WIPING  OUT;  PENCIL- 
ING; THE  USE  OF  CRAYONS;  REVIEW  OF 
WOODS;  THE  GRAINING  OF  OAK,  ASH,  CHERRY, 
SATINWOOD,  MAHOGANY,  MAPLE,  BIRD'S  EYE 
MAPLE,  SYCAMORE,  WALNUT,  ETC.;  MARBLING 
IN  ALL  SHADES.  :::::»: 

Each  Treatise  is  followed  with  Test  Questions 
:  :  :  for  the  Student  :  :  : 

By  F.  MAIRE 

Author  of  "Modern  Painter's  Cyclopedia" 
"Exterior  Painting,"  "Interior Painting"  and  "Colors." 

ILLUSTRATED 


CHICAGO 

Frederick  J.  Drake  &  Company 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT  1910 

BY 
FREDERICK  J.  DRAKK 


Library 

r 

332 


PKEFACE. 


This  is  the  4th  Volume  of  the  Bed  series 
manuals.  It  covers  a  field  which  usually 
is  or  rather  ,was  made  a  separate  branch  of 
the  painting  business.  It  has  become  of  less 
importance  however  since  the  white  pine 
finishing  of  interiors  has  been  replaced  by 
that  of  hardwood.  It  is  used  to  a  great  ex- 
tent nevertheless  and  while  there  is  less  de- 
mand for  the  skill  displayed  by  masters  of 
the  art  of  graining  as  existed  in  the  past,  a 
good  general  workman  is  incomplete  that 
cannot  do  a  fair  to  good  job  of  graining  to- 
day and  all  such  should  be  able  to  do  that 
much.  A  journeyman  who  is  able  to  turn 
his  hand  at  graining  or  marbling  will  usu- 
ally be  kept  on  the  pay  roll  of  the  shop  much 
longer  than  the  man  who  can  do  nothing  but 
ordinary  brush  work.  Marbling  has  been 
associated  with  graining  because  there  is 
17 


18  PREFACE 

some  few  things  that  are  in  common  be- 
tween the  two;  the  grainer  is  better 
equipped  for  the  doing  of  marbling  prop- 
erly than  painters  who  are  not  grainer s— to 
say  the  least. 


Graining 


LESSON  I. 

PRELIMINARIES. 

1.  It  has  been  the  custom  of  the  author 
in  the  past  to  give  a  synopsis  as  it  were  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  subject  matter  is 
to  be  treated  at  the  beginning  of  each  of 
the  volumes  of  the  red  series  and  as  he  sees 
no  reason  in  departing  from  the  rule  and 
on  the  contrary,  very  many  good  ones  for  a 
continuation  of  the  custom,  below  will  be 
found  a  few  outlines  of  how  the  subject 
matter  will  be  handled. 

First.  The  tools  and  material  required 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  work  of  graining 
and  marbling.  Neither  the  tools  nor  the 
materials  needed  are  very  numerous,  com- 
plicated nor  costly. 

Second.    The  preparing  of  various  sur- 
faces for  graining  in  oil  or  water  colors. 
19 


20  GRAINING 

Third.  The  preparing  of  material  for 
the  graining  of  various  woods  in  oil  and 
water  colors  and  the  painting  of  the  ground. 

Fourth.  The  graining  of  the  various 
woods  in  oil  and  water  colors,  which  in- 
cludes the  over-graining,  stippling  or  glaz- 
ing required  to  bring  the  work  to  comple- 
tion ready  for  varnishing. 

Fifth.  The  varnishing  and  other  meth- 
ods required  for  the  protection  of  the  grain- 
ing. 

Sixth.  The  above  outlines  will  also  suf- 
fice for  the  marbling  section  of  the  manual. 

Unlike  general  directions  which  can  be 
given  as  to  the  painting  of  surfaces  of 
wood,  iron  or  brick,  each  of  the  various 
woods  will  have  to  be  treated  separately. 
These  are  a  few  operations  which  are  com- 
mon to  all  kinds  of  grainings— these  will 
be  given  in  full  before  proceeding  to  their 
special  applications,  suited  to  the  various 
woods,  as  then  the  student  will  be  more 
familiar  with  what  is  meant  by  this  pre- 


GRAINING  21 

liminary  study  of  the  methods  used  in  do- 
ing " wiping"  for  instance  or  "veining" 
in  heart  growths  with  a  brush,  etc. 

Seventh.  The  varnishing  is  an  impor- 
tant part  of  graining,  which  can  be  done 
in  various  ways  to  suit  the  kind  of  grain- 
ing done.  In  this  regard  general  direc- 
tions will  be  given,  but  the  kind  of  varnish 
to  be  used  must  be  such  as  will  best  agree 
with  the  character  of  the  material  used  in 
doing  the  graining  so  as  to  get  good  re- 
sults from  it. 

LESSON  II. 

THE  MATERIAL  USED  IN  GRAINING. 

2.  The  material  used  in  graining  is  not 
numerous.    The  principal,  as  may  well  be 
supposed,  is  white  lead  to  be  used  as  a  base 
upon  which  to  prepare  the  ground  tints 
upon  which  to  grain. 

3.  The  necessary  colors  to  produce  the 
tints  required,  which  are:    Venetian  red; 
French  ochre;  raw  and  burnt  umber;  raw 


22  GRAINING 

and  burnt   siennas   and   lamp  black— all 
ground  in  oil. 

4.  For  the  preparing  of  graining  colors 
all  the  above  colors  ground  in  oil  are  used 
with  the  exception  of  ochre,  Venetian  red 
and  lamp  black,  and  the  following  addi- 
tional ones  which  are  more  transparent: 
Ivory    black  and    Vandyke    brown.     Of 
course  this  applies  to  the  preparation  of 
colors  for  "graining  in  oil."    To  the  above 
should  be  added  ground  whiting  in  oil,  but 
this  can  be  prepared  from  dry  whiting  in 
the  shop  as  it  is  not  usually  sold  in  that 
shape. 

5.  For  graining  in  water  colors,  all  the 
above  named  colors  are  used,  but  ground 
in  water  or  distemper  and  all   grainers 
should  have  a  supply  of  raw  and  burnt  um- 
ber and  siennas,  Vandyke  brown  and  Ivory 
black  ground  in  that  medium.    Some  few 
grainers  prefer  to  buy  the  dry  ground  col- 
ors and  to  use  them  from  the  dry  state. 

6.  Beeswax  is  also  used  in  preparing 


GRAINING  23 

graining  colors  used  in  oil  graining.  Kot- 
ten  stone  is  useful  in  preparing  the  oil 
graining  colors,  and  while  not  indispens- 
able, it  will  be  well  to  use  it  as  it  helps  to 
make  the  "megilp"— the  technical  name 
which  is  given  by  the  old  English  grainers 
to  such  oil  graining  combinations— work 
better  and  comb  smoothly. 

7.  For  thinners :  Raw  linseed  oil,  boiled 
linseed  oil,  turpentine,  drying  japan.    Stale 
beer  or  vinegar  for  thinning  distemper  col- 
ors.   Glycerine  to  be  used  with  the  above 
in  order  to  retard  the  drying  of  the  color 
too  quickly  at  times. 

8.  All  the  colors  named  above  are  also 
used  in  marbling,  with  a  few  additional 
ones  such  as  Indian  reds,  Prussian  blue, 
chrome  yellows.    In  fact  any  others  which 
may  come  near  to  imitating  some  particular 
tone  in  any  marble  specimen  one  may  wish 
to  imitate. 

9.  In  giving  out  the  above  lists,  no  de- 
scription is  given  of  the  several  colors  men- 


24  GRAINING 

tioned  for  the  reason  that  the  student  will 
find  all  these  colors  sufficiently  well  de- 
scribed in  Vol.  Ill  of  the  red  series,  which 
he  should  procure;  "Colors,  what  they  are 
and  what  to  expect  from  them,"  as  it  is  en- 
titled, will  give  him  the  necessary  informa- 
tion more  fully  than  would  be  possible  in 
this  manual. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  II. 

2.  What  is  said  about  the  material  used 
in  graining  and  of  the  base? 

3.  What  colors  ground  in  oil  are  re- 
quired for  preparing  of  tints  for  grounds? 

4.  What  other  colors  ground  in  oil  are 
required  for  preparing  "graining  colors  in 
oil?" 

5.  What  are  the  colors  that  are  needed 
in  graining  in  water  colors? 

6.  What  other  material  is   useful  in 
grainings? 

7.  What  are  the  thinners  used  in  grain- 
ing in  oil  or  distemper? 


GRAINING  25 

8.  What  additional  material  is  useful 
for  marbling? 

9.  What  is  said  about  obtaining  fuller 
descriptions  of  material? 

LESSONS  III.  AND  IV. 

TOOLS  USED  IN  GRAINING  AND  MARBLING. 

10.  Brushes.    The  brushes  required  for 
the  laying  on  of  the  " ground  colors"  are 
the  same  as  Would  be  used  for  similar  work 
in  interior  painting.    A  good  oval  6-0  var- 
nish makes  a  fine  tool  for  the  purpose. 
Some  prefer  the  flat  brush  for  laying  on 
color ;  any  good  3-inch  flat  brush,  that  will 
lay  color  smoothly. 

11.  For  "rubbing"  in  the  graining  col- 
ors in  oil  some  use  half  worn-out,  flat 
brushes— others  again  prefer  the  round  or 
oval,   and   again  some   rubbers-in  use   a 
brush  that  has  been  well  broke  in  but  not 
worn  much.    It  is  largely  a  question  of 
habit.    If  the  " megilp"  is  just  right,  the 
rubber-in  can  take  almost  any  kind  of  a 


26  GRAINING 

brush  and  rub  out  well  with  it,  but  the  ad- 
I  vice  of  using  an  old  worn-out  brush  which 
is  seen  in  some  of  the  old-time  books  on 
graining  should  not  be  followed  too  im- 
plicitly. 'A  half-worn  brush  will  probably 
suit  more  "  rubber  s-in"  than  any  other  ex- 
tremes. None  of  the  above  need  illustrat- 
ing as  these  brushes  are  in  constant  use  in 
all  paint  shops.  Besides  a  number  of  kinds 
are  shown  in  Vols.  I  and  II  of  the  red 
series. 

12.  Walnut  stipplers.  This  tool  is  a 
:thin,  flat,  long  bristle  brush  and  Fig.  1 
'shows  it  to  perfection.  They  run  in  width 
('from  2  1-2  inches  up  to  4  inches.  They 


FlQ.   1 


are  indispensable  in  graining  such  woods 
as  black  walnut  and  others  which  show  up 


GRAINING 


27 


FIG.  2 


a  large  number  of  coarse  pores.    It  is  also 
known  under  the  name  of  flogger,  the  lat- 


28  GRAINING 

ter  seemingly  the  more  appropriate  of  the 
two. 

13.  The  "Badger  blender "  is  an  indis- 
pensable tool  used  in  all  distemper  grain- 
ing to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent.  It  is 
also  used  in  marbling.  Fig.  2  shows  it. 
This  is  the  best  shape  for  it;  it  is  set  in 
glue  and  has  a  bone  head ;  the  old  form  of 
it  is  also  shown  in  A  of  Fig.  3. 


Pio.  3 

14.  The  "fan  overgrainer"  is  a  brush 
that  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  Every  kit 
should  have  several  sizes  of  them.  Fig.  4 
illustrates  it  well.  They  run  in  sizes  from 
1  inch  wide  by  half  inches  upward  to  3^2 


GRAINING 


FIG.  4 


inches.  Some  grainers  prefer  to  make 
them  themselves,  but  little  is  gained  there- 
by. They  usually  have  to  have  some  of 
their  bristles  cut  away  to  suit  the  different 
purposes  they  are  needed  for.  They  can 
be  clipped  off  with  scissors  much  quicker 
than  the  making  of  one  out  and  out.  They 
are  so  cheap  that  one's  time  cannot  be 
profitably  employed  in  making  a  fan  over- 
grainer. 


FIG.  5 


30  GRAINING 

15.  In  Fig  5  are  shown  a  few  mottlers 
and  in  Fig  4,  also  under  letters  B,  C,  E,  K, 
H  and  M,  each  varying  in  forms  so  as  to 
meet  the  various  uses  to  which  mottlers 
are  adapted  and  to  suit  the  various  ideas 
of  the  operators. 

16.  A   few   camel   pencils    of   various 
sizes,  flat  and  sharp  pointed  for  veining 
completes  the  list  of  brushes  specially  used 
for  graining  and  marbling,  to  which  must 
be  added  also  the  varnish  brushes  to  put 
on  the  finishing  varnish  coats.    These  may 
be   any  of  the  numerous  bristle  varnish 
brushes  fully  described  in  Vols.  I  and  II. 
It  is  a  matter  of  choice  and  convenience, 
no  special  shape  or  build  being  necessary 
for  these. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSONS  III.  AND  IV. 

10.  What  kind  of  brushes  are  required 
for  the  laying  on  of  ground  colors? 

11.  What  brushes  are  used  for  "rub- 
bing in"  graining  colors  in  oil? 


GRAINING  31 

12.  What  is  a  stippler  or  flogger? 

13.  What  are  the  badger  hair  blenders 
used  for? 

14.  What  are  fan  overgrainers  ? 

15.  What  are  mottlers  ? 

16.  -What  other  brushes  are  useful  in 
graining  and  marbling? 

LESSON  V. 

TOOLS    USED    IN     GRAINING    AND    MARBLING— 

CONTINUED. 

17.  The   mechanical   aids   to   graining 
are  quite  numerous  and  some  are  valuable. 
For  the  graining  of  many  kinds  of  woods 
the  devices  which  are  shown  below  will  fin- 
ish the  work  completely,  and  in  the  grain- 
ing of  others  will  partially  do  the  work, 
which  may  afterward  be  improved  by  hand 
work  in  the  finishing.    It  is  not  claimed  for 
these  tools  that  they  will  do  as  good  work 
nor  as  varied  as  can  be  done  by  hand,  but 
that  in  the  hands  of  one  who  is  used  to  the 
proper    handling   of   them   they   will   do 


32 


GRAINING 


better  work  than  the  average  hurried  up 
hand  work  that  is  usually  seen,  and  which 
has  probably  had  no  small  share  in  disgust- 
ing people  with  graining. 


FIG.  6 

18.  Fig.  6  shows  the  three  Davis  roll- 
ers made  of  rubber.  One  is  used  in  the 
wiping  out  of  heart  growths ;  another  for 
the  wiping  out  of  champs  in  quartered  oak 
and  other  woods,  which  when  quartered 
present  the  same  peculiarities.  The  last 
has  three  graded  sets  of  indentations  and 
,  are  used  as  combs  for  any  kind  of  combing 
^  where  rubber  combs  are  used. 

In  this  lesson  it  is  not  the  purpose  to  ex- 


GEAINING 


33 


plain  the  use  of  the  tools  enumerated ;  this 
will  come  under  its  proper  heading  when 
the  modus  operandi  of  graining,  both  by 
hand  and  by  the  use  of  other  helping  tools 
will  be  fully  detailed. 


FIG.  7 


19.  Fig.  7  shows  another  rubber  device, 
patented  by  the  Eidgely  Trimmer  Co.  The 
corrugations,  as  will  be  seen,  are  in  halves 


34:  GRAINING 

and  are  made  so  that  by  proper  pressure 
upon  the  handles  curves  them,  enabling 
the  operator  to  follow  indentations,  and 
which  also  produces  many  variations  upon 
plain  surfaces. 


FIG.  9 


20.    Figs.  8  and  9  are  handled  corru- 
gated    quarter-round     rubber     grainers. 


GRAINING  35 

These  are  especially  handy  in  graining 
floors,  also  in  getting  into  corners  where 
the  others  cannot  readily  be  made  to  fit  up 
to  the  jointing  of  the  two  corners.  These 
are  also  made  by  the  above-named  firm ;  as 
well  as  the  following: 


Pio.  10 

21.  Fig.  10  shows  a  rubber  graining 
comb  with  graduated  sized  teeth,  which  is 
|  frequently  desirable  as  the  work  shows  a 
/inore  natural  lessening  of  the  width  of  the 
jyeining  from  the  heart  outward. 

22.  Fig.    11    shows    graduated   widths 
steel  combs  in  three  sizes  of  teeth,  fine,  me- 
dium and  coarse.    These  are  used  in  plain 
oak  combings,  etc. 


36  GRAINING 


FIG.  11 

23a.  An  artificial  rubber  thumb  made 
from  a  piece  of  rubber  about  a/2  ail  inch 
wide  at  the  end,  which  is  then  bevelled  to  a 
sharpe  edge,  and  is  frequently  used  by  men 
who  have  never  been  able  to  use  their  nat- 
ural thumb  in  wiping  out. 

23&.  The  check  roller  shown  in  Fig.  12 
is  a  series  of  notched  metal  disks  which  are 
joined  together.  The  projecting  parts  of 
the  disks  are  brushed  over  with  distemper 
t'olor  and  the  roller  revolved  over  such 
parts  of  the  work  where  the  operator  de- 


GRAINING  37 

sires  to  show  weather  checks,  which  are  so 
often  seen  in  oak. 


FIG.  12 

24.  Last  but  not  least,  an  abundant  sup- 
ply of  soft  cotton  rags  to  use  in  connection 
with)  wiping  out  and  in  cleaning  up  tools. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  V. 

17.  General  remarks  on  tools  used  in 
graining. 

18.  What  are  rubber  graining  rollers 
used  for  in  graining? 

19.  What  is  represented  by  Fig.  61 

20.  What  is  represented  by  Fig.  7? 

21.  What  do  Figs.  8  and  9  represent? 

22.  What  is  represented  by  Fig.  101 


38  GRAINING 

23a.  What  is  said  of  the  steel  combs, 
Fig.  11? 

23b.  What  is  the  check  roller  used  for, 
Fig.  12? 

24.  What  is  an  artificial  rubber  thumb? 

25.  What  is  said  about  the  use  of  rags  ? 

LESSON  VI. 

GENERAL  OPERATIONS  USED  IN  GRAINING. 

26.  Graining,  as  it  has  been  hinted  at 
already,  has  many  operations  which  are 
common  to  the  many  kinds  of  wood  imi- 
tated, the  variations  being  the  result  of  the 
difference  in  their  application.    Therefore 
it  is  well  to  give  a  general  description  of 
these,  so  that  there  will  be  no  need  of  re- 
peating them  each  time  that  the  particular 
graining  of  different  woods  is  presented. 
All  that  will  be  necessary  will  be  to  refer  to 
the  general  directions  given  here. 

27.  The  first  operation  for  all  kinds  of 
graining  is  the  painting  of  the  grounds. 
In  order  that  the  superstructure  should  be 


CHAINING  39 

lasting,  the  foundation  must  be  good  and 
appropriate  to  the  character  of  the  work 
being  done  or  else  trouble  in  the  shape  of 
cracking  will  be  pretty  sure  to  follow.  If 
the  woodwork  is  new  and  has  not  been 
painted  before,  it  will  be  easy  enough  to 
lay  this  foundation  rightly. 

28.  The  wood  should  be  well  primed 
with  raw  linseed  oil  and  white  lead  after 
the  covering  over  with  shellac  varnish  of  all 
resinous  and  sappy  parts  in  order  to  stop 
their  coming  through  the  paint  coats.  The 
second  coat  should  be  made  from  white  lead 
colored  up  to  something  near  the  color  of 
the  finishing  tint  desired  for  the  ground. 
This  should  be  thinned  with  half  raw  lin- 
seed oil  and  half  turpentine;  it  should  be 
put  on  middling  heavy  after  having  first 
gone  over  the  nail  holes,  cracks,  loose  joints, 
etc.,  with  putty.  The  last  coat  should  be 
put  on  stout,  but  well  rubbed  out  and  should 
be  mixed  from  white  lead  tinted  to  the  ex- 
act shade  wanted  for  the  graining  ground. 


40  CHAINING 

It  should  be  thinned  with  one-fourth  raw 
linseed  oil  and  three-fourths  turpentine. 
In  cold  weather  or  damp,  non-drying 
weather  it  may  be  well  to  add  just  a  trifle 
of  drying  japan,  in  order  to  insure  the  good 
drying  of  the  several  coats  of  paint,  and  it 
will  be  hardly  needed  to  add  that  no  coat  of 
paint  shall  be  placed  upon  the  other  until 
the  former  one  has  completed  its  drying. 
Three  coats  usually  suffice  to  give  a  good, 
solid  ground  for  graining. 

29.  As  much  of  the  graining  done  is 
over  old  painted  work,  there  is  always  an 
element  of  uncertainty  as  to  the  results. 
If  the  woodwork  has  been  painted  only  a 
few  times,  it  will  be  easy  enough  to  bring 
it  to  a  good  finish  by  the  application  of  two 
good  coats  of  ground  color,  where  turpen- 
tine predominates,  so  that  it  will  not  be  too 
glossy.  If  the  woodwork  has  been  painted 
a  great  number  of  times  it  will  be  useless 
to  try  to  paint  grounds  over  it,  as  then  it 
will  be  apt  to  blister.  It  will  be  better  to 


GRAINING  41 

burn  it  off  or  get  it  off  by  using  some  of 
the  paint  removers,  after  which  the  paint- 
ing of  the  ground  may  proceed  as  directed 
for  new  woodwork. 

30.  It  also  happens  that  graining  is  re- 
sorted to  in  order  to  hide  the  dark  effect 
produced  on  cheap  varnishes  by  age  in  the 
natural  finish  used  over  yellow  pine,  etc. 
It  will  be  much  safer  to  remove  it  with  var- 
nish remover,  if  many  coats  have  been  ap- 
plied over  it,  which  is  usually  the  case.    If 
it  has  only  had  three  or  four  coats,  the 
woodwork  should  be  gone  over  thoroughly 
to  remove  as  much  of  it  as  possible  with1 
steel  wool,  and  afterward  two  good  coats 
of  ground  color  given  it.    The  first  one 
should  be  a  trifle  thinner  than  would  be 
given  over  old  painted  work. 

31.  There  is  a  rule  for  the  proper  tint- 
ing of  ground  which  will  always  give  good 
results  if  followed  up  carefully.    It  is  this : 
No  matter  what  wood  one  tries  to  imitate, 
either  in  its  natural  finish  tone  or  in  an  imi- 


42  GRAINING 

tation  of  one  which  has  been  stained  to  an 
unnatural  color,  always  have  the  ground 
tint:  as  light  as  the  lightest  part  of  the 
wood  which  shows  through.  This  will  be 
the  right  tint  for  the  graining  of  that  wood. 
32.  It  is  refreshing  sometimes  to  hear 
the  discussions  that  take  place  among 
grainers  as  to  the  proper  ground  tints  for 
various  woods.  No  cut  and  dried  rule  can 
be  given.  The  one  given  in  paragraph  31 
is  as  good  or  better  than  any.  There  is  so 
much  variation  in  the  natural  specimens 
themselves  that  no  one  nor  two  near-by 
tints  would  fill  the  bill.  For  this  reason  no 
ground  tints  will  be  shown  in  this  manual. 
Under  the  several  woods  will  be  given  the 
general  tone  of  the  ground  by  name  only, 
as,  for  instance,  the  general  ground  tone  for 
graining  oak  is  a  light  buff,  varying  from  a 
cream  to  a  decided  buff,  according  to  the 
"finished  effect  wanted. 


GRAINING  43 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VI. 

26.  What  is  said  of  the  general  opera- 
tions by  which  graining  is  done  1 

27.  What   preparations   are   necessary 
for  the  painting  of  grounds  ? 

28.  How  is  new  wood  to  be  grounded? 

29.  How   is    old    painted   work   to   be 
grounded  ? 

30.  How  is  old  varnished  work  to  be 
treated  for  grounding? 

31.  What  is  the  general  rule  to  be  fol- 
lowed in  preparing  the  ground  work  for  any 
given  wood? 

32.  What  else  is  said  regarding  tinting 
the  ground  colors? 

LESSON  VII. 

PEEPAEING   OIL   GEAINING    COLOBS. 

33.  Again  here  is  another  one  of  the 
many  operations  necessary  for  graining 
upon  which  grainers  are  very  far  from  be- 
ing unanimous  as  to  the  proper  way  that 
it  should  be  done.    It  will  be  best  to  note 


44  CHAINING 

(what  is  expected  of  a  graining  color,  and 
afterwards  to  prepare  them  according  to 
these  requirements,  irrespective  of  any  cut 
and  dried  formulas,  as  when  these  require- 
ments are  complied  with  it  does  not  matter 
so  very  much  about  the  material  that 
is  used  in  doing  so.  It  will  be  well  to  say 
that  these  graining  colors  are  best  known 
to  old  time  English  grainers  under  the 
name  of  "megilp,"  in  order  that  there  may 
be  no  misunderstanding  as  to  the  kind  of 
graining  color  that  is  meant. 

34.  A  good ' '  megilp, ' '  or  graining  color, 
should  possess  the  following  qualities : 

1st.  It  should  be  clear  toned  without 
muddiness. 

2d.    It  should  be  very  transparent. 

3d.  It  should  be  heavy  enough  to  brush 
out  well,  so  that  it  may  be  combed  and  its 
edges  remain  clean  cut  without  running. 

35.  The  first  requisite  of ' '  clearness  and 
richness"  in   the  umbers,   siennas,  ivory 
blacks  and  Vandyke  browns  ground  in  oil, 


GRAINING  45 

which  are  used  to  prepare  the  megilp,  is 
not  so  very  difficult  to  obtain  when  the 
goods  of  well-known  color  firms  are  em- 
ployed, but  the  second  requisite,  while  it 
belongs  to  a  stronger  or  lesser  degree  to  all 
the  colors  enumerated,  is  far  short  of  that 
which  is  required  in  a  graining  color. 

36.  To  obtain  the  proper  degree  of  thin- 
ness required,  all  the  above  colors  would 
have  to  be  thinned  with  linseed  oil  and  tur- 
pentine far  beyond  that  consistency  which 
it  is  required  to  carry  in  order  that  it  may 
be  wiped  and  combed  with  well  defined 
edges  which  do  not  run  or  blur.  Therefore 
some  perfectly  transparent  material  must 
be  added  to  it  in  order  to  give  it  this  con- 
sistency. The  material  used  for  this  may 
be  rotten  stone  or  whiting,  or  both,  or  china 
clay,  or  better,  silicate  earths— any  trans- 
parent earth  with  no  coloring  of  its  own. 
Some  grainers  use  putty  thinned  down  with 
oil,  but  that  is  not  so  good  as  whiting,  as 
the  putty  may  be  made  of  anything  and  the 


46  GRAINING 

oil  used  in  preparing  it  may  be  injurious 
to  the  durability  of  the  graining. 

37.  Some  of  the  old-time  grainers  used 
to  prepare  what  may  be  called  "  stock  me- 
gilp, ' '  a  portion  of  which  they  added  to  the 
oil  colors  as  needed.  Wm.  E.  Wall  says  of 
it  "that  the  formula  is  this :  Take  8  ounces 
of  sugar  of  lead  and  8  ounces  of  rotten 
stone,  grind  them  together  as  stiffly  as  pos- 
sible in  linseed  oil ;  then  take  16  ounces  of 
white  beeswax,  melt  it  gradually  in  an 
earthen  pitkin,  and  when  it  is  fluid  pour  in 
8  ounces  of  spirits  of  turpentine ;  mix  this 
well  with  the  wax,  and  then  pour  the  con- 
tents of  the  pitkin  on  the  grinding  stone  to 
get  cold.  When  cold  grind  the  rotten  stone 
and  sugar  of  lead  with  the  wax  and  tur- 
pentine and  it  will  form  an  excellent  me- 
gilp, which  if  kept  in  a  jar  with  a  mouth 
wide  enough  to  admit  a  palette  knife  and 
secured  from  dust  will  keep  almost  any 
length  of  time." 

This  is  well  and  good  for  professionals, 


GRAINING  47 

but  it  will  hardly  appeal  to  the  ordinary 
grainer.  He  can  grind  up  a  little  whiting 
and  rotten  stone  and  melted  beeswax  in 
turpentine  and  add  enough  to  his  color  to 
answer  his  purpose. 

With  the  present  system  of  buying  all 
colors  as  near  ready  for  use  as  possible, 
color  manufacturers  prepare  special  oil 
graining  colors  ready  for  use  by  simply 
thinning.  They  come  ready  for  all  sorts  of 
woods,  and  where  the  color  is  not  just  the 
shade  wanted,  the  operator  can  easily  add 
the  one  that  is  lacking  to  bring  it  to  the 
right  tone. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VII. 

33.  What  is  said  in  a  general  way  about 
preparing  graining  colors,  or  megilp? 

34.  What  are  the  requisites  necessary  ta 
make  a  good  graining  color  in  oil? 

35.  What  is  said  about  the  transpar- 
ency of  the  colors  used  in  preparing  grain- 
ing colors  ? 


48  GRAINING 

36.  What  substances  may  be  added  to 
colors  to  produce  more' transparency? 

37.  How  may  stock  megilp  be  prepared 
for  future  use? 

LESSON  VIII. 

MIXING  GRAINING  COLORS  IN  DISTEMPER,  RUB- 
BING IN,  ETC. 

38.  When  the  colors  have  been  properly 
ground  in  water  or  in  distemper,  as  they  are 
usually  called,  it  is  but  little  trouble  to  thin 
them  out  for  use  with  stale  beer  or  vinegar. 
Many  grainers  prefer  to  use  dry  colors 
when  they  have  been  finely  dry  ground,  and 
they  work  as  well  as  the  distemper  colors. 
They  are  much  more  economical  to  use,  and 
for  that  reason  will  always  be  preferred  if 
for  no  other.    Some,  however,  are  hard  to 
mix  up  dry  and  it  is  preferable  to  buy  these 
ground  in  distemper,  as,  for  instance,  Van- 
dyke brown  and  ivory  black. 

39.  It  frequently  happens  during  warm 
weather  that  the  color  dries  so  fast  that 


GRAINING  49 

the  operator  cannot  possibly  finish  his  work 
while  the  color  is  in  a  right  condition,  so 
he  must  resort  to  some  means  to  prevent 
this  hasty  drying.  The  addition  of  glycer- 
ine will  retard  it  for  a  good  while,  as  glyc- 
erine is  a  good  absorbent  of  water. 

40.  To  prevent  this   rapid  drying  of 
graining  colors  in  distemper  many  means 
are  used,  some  too  complicated  and  really 
no  better  than  the  one  named  in  the  preced- 
ing paragraph ;  wetting  the  wood  with  wa- 
ter into  which  a  little  sugar  has  been  dis- 
solved is  another  means  to  the  same  end. 
Afterward  use  the  regular  distemper  mix- 
ture over  it. 

RUBBING  IN. 

41.  This  is  the  name  that  is  given  to 
the  operation  of  laying  on  the  oil  megilped 
color  previous  to  the  graining.    The  pro- 
fessional grainer  usually  has  a  helper  who 
works  ahead  of  him  and  ''rubs  in"  the 
color,  while  he  follows  him  up  with  the  wip- 


50  GRAINING 

ing  or  combing.  "When  the  color  is  mixed 
and  thinned  just  right  there  is  no  difficulty 
in  its  application.  The  brush  should  be 
any  good,  partly  worn,  or  at  least  well  broke 
in  oval,  or  flat  paint  brush.  In  the  flat  the 
3-inch  size  will  be  found  the  most  conven- 
ient. 

42.  It  was  said  in  the  preceding  para- 
graph that  the  application  of  the  rubbing- 
in  coat  presented  no  difficulties,  but  the 
proviso  inserted  relative  to  the  color  being 
properly  mixed  means  what  it  says,  for  if 
it  is  not,  trouble  will  surely  follow.  If  the 
color  is  too  thin  and  oily  the  operator  will 
find  it  hard  work  to  smooth  it  evenly.  If 
it  has  been  made  more  transparent  by  the 
proper  megilping,  the  color  will  brush  out 
evenly,  and  a  full  brush  of  color  can  be  car- 
ried to  the  work.  The  operator  should  run 
over  the  mouldings  of  the  upper  panels,  and 
if  he  has  enough  color  on  his  brush,  also  the 
lower  ones,  then  he  should  brush  out  the 
panels  themselves,  helping  himself  to  the 


GRAINING  51 

surplus  color  on  the  mouldings;  then  the 
short  middle  stiles,  then  the  lock  rail,  upper 
and  lower  rails,  then  the  end  stiles,  finishing 
up  with  the  door  edges  last. 

43.  What  a  "rubber  in"  should  not  do 
is  to  try  to  skin  his  color  on.  Many  are 
afraid  to  carry  more  than  half  an  inch  of 
color  from  the  pot  to  the  work,  seemingly 
afraid  they  can't  manage  it  with  a  full 
brush,  but  that  is  a  very  poor  way  and  if 
pains  are  taken  to  distribute  the  color  along 
the  panel  mouldings  first,  its  distribution 
will  be  much  more  even  than  if  put  on  by 
skinning.  It  will  take  only  about  two  dip- 
pings to  do  the  side  of  an  ordinary  door, 
and  it  will  be  in  just  the  shape  that  the 
grainer  wants  it.  On  the  other  hand  again, 
he  must  not  put  it  on  too  heavy,  as  the  edges 
will  not  wipe  clean,  and  if  too  oily  will  even 
run  and  show  up  ragged  at  the  edges. 


52  GRAINING 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  VIII. 

38.  How    should    graining    colors    be 
mixed  for  distemper  work? 

39.  What  may  be  added  to  the  thinner 
to  prevent  the  color  drying  too, quick? 

40.  What  else  is  useful  in  retarding  the 
drying  of  the  distemper  graining  color  ? 

41.  What  is  meant  by  the  operation  of 
rubbing  in? 

42.  How  is  the  graining  color  applied? 

43.  What  is  it  that  the  "rubber  in" 
should  not  attempt  to  do  ? 

LESSON  IX. 

GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  GRAINING  OPERATIONS 
—  CONTINUED. 

APPLYING  THE  DISTEMPER  COLORS. 

44.  A  good-sized  brush  may  be  used  for 
the  laying  of  the  distemper  colors,  but  they 
are  not  absolutely  necessary.    A  sponge  is 
even  more  frequently  used,  especially  when 
the  character  of  the  wood  is  to  be  shaped 


GRAINING  53 

by  the  use  of  the  sponge  as  the  color  is  being 
laid  on.  It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  say 
that  the  man  who  does  the  graining  must 
be  his  own  "rubber  in"  in  distemper  work. 
The  name  itself  is  dropped  for  this  class 
of  work;  the  person  applying  it  must  be 
able  to  do  the  shaping  as  he  goes  along,  ex- 
cepting for  "stippled"  woods,  when  it  may 
be  well  to  have  some  one  to  help,  especially 
if  the  color  dries  fast;  he  can  then  follow 
the  helper  closely  and  then  there  will  be  no 
trouble  from  that  cause. 

45.  The  color  itself  may  be  thickly  or 
thinly  thinned— it  will  all  depend  upon  the 
kind  of  surface  one  is  working  upon,  and 
also  upon  the  kind  of  graining  being  done. 
Some  grainers  must  have  stale  beer  for  a 
thinner,  but  others  will  do  as  good  work 
who  never  use  any,  and  such  use  vinegar 
somewhat  diluted  for  that  purpose.  The 
proper  thing  is  to  have  the  color  of  the  right 
working  condition  for  the  particular  job. 
The  kind  of  thinner  does  not  matter  so 


54  GRAINING 

much  so  that  it  has  tack  enough  to  hold  the 
color,  so  the  colors  will  not  run  together 
when  brushed  over  in  the  varnishing  after- 
ward. 

46.  The  use  of  the  check  roller  usually 
is  the  first  operation  done  in  graining  woods 
which  show  weather  checks.  The  proper 
way  to  use  them  is  to  fill  a  3-inch  fan  over- 
grainer  with  the  distemper  color  which 
comes  nearest  to  the  ideas  of  the  grainer  in 
showing  up  what  he  desires  to  produce. 
This  fan  overgrainer  is  laid  upon  the  face 
of  the  check  roller  flat,  and  a  few  turns  are 
given  in  order  to  spread,  when  it  is  ready 
to  do  its  duty.  Checks  while  they  look  all 
right  in  some  oak  work,  are  usually  rather 
scarce  in  nature,  and  it  is  an  easy  thing  to 
overdo  them  in  the  imitation.  A  few  in 
well-chosen  locations  will  look  infinitely  bet- 
ter than  an  oversupply.  As  overdoing  na- 
ture is  a  fault  which  applies  in  all  the  other 
operations  used  in  graining,  it  will  be  well 
to  guard  the  student  against  this  defect 


CHAINING  55 

right  at  the  beginning.  Let  him  bear  in 
mind  that  all  graining  will  look  better  un- 
derdone than  overdone,  no  matter  what 
wood  one  tries  to  imitate. 

47.  Stippling  is  another  operation 
which  is  used  chiefly  upon  open  grained 
woods  or  woods  which  show  fine  or  coarse 
pores  all  over  their  surfaces,  such,  for  in- 
stance, as  black  walnut  in  the  dark  woods 
and  chestnut  in  the  lighter  ones.  Some 
pretty  effects  are  also  made  by  partial  very 
fine  stipplings  over  certain  parts  of  woods. 
As  the  particular  graining  of  each  wood 
will  be  related  these  effects  will  be  noticed 
under  their  proper  headings.  The  applica- 
tion of  the  distemper  color  (the  only  proper 
one)  has  already  been  noted.  The  operator 
doing  the  stippling  must  hurry  his  work 
with  the  flogger  or  stippler  (see  Fig.  1) 
before  the  color  commences  to  dry,  or  the 
stippling  will  not  be  uniform.  He  at  no 
time  must  let  the  brush  rest  upon  the  work, 
but  must  hit  the  surface  and  let  it  rebound 


56  GRAINING 

back,  and  be  ready  to  strike  again,  being 
careful  that  the  stippling  proceeds  evenly, 
and  that  the  porousness  indicated  be  as  near 
equal  all  over  as  possible.  It  is  not  a  very 
difficult  operation,  but  one  minute  of  actual 
work  with  the  flogger  will  teach  more  to  the 
student  as  to  how  it  should  be  done  than  an 
hour  of  description  will. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  IX. 

44.  How  should  the  distemper  colors  be 
put  on? 

45.  What  is  said  of  the  thinners  used 
in  distemper  work? 

46.  How   should  the   check   roller   be 
used? 

47.  How  is  the  stippling  done? 

LESSON  X. 

WIPING  OUT  IN  GRAINING. 

48.  Wiping  out  is  the  name  given  to  the 
operation  in  graining  whereby   some  of 
the  color  is  removed,  as  in  champs  or  flakes 


GRAINING  57 

in  quartered  oak,  for  instance,  or  else  where 
the  veining  in  heart  growth  is  also  removed 
and  the  remaining  dark  color  not  removed 
forms  the  veining.  This  operation  is 
mainly  used  in  graining  oak  in  oil,  but  is 
not  confined  to  that  alone  by  any  means,  nor 
to  oil  graining  alone,  either.  Many  grain- 
ers  who  know  "how"  wipe  out  water  or 
distemper  work  and  it  looks  well,  too. 

49.  To  do  the  " wiping"  the  operator 
takes  some  soft  cotton  rags,  folding  a  couple 
of  thicknesses  together,  and  using  the 
thumb  inside  of  it  he  draws  it  gently 
wherever  he  desires  to  remove  any  of  the 
color ;  by  drawing  gently  on  the  cloth  it  will 
wipe  out  the  color  cleanly,  and  always  pre- 
sent a  clean  face  to  the  fresh  color.  Under 
no  consideration  should  the  grainer  permit 
himself  to  keep  on  using  a  soiled  part  of  the 
cloth,  as  it  is  sure  to  show  up  streaky  and 
dirty.  Many  persons  for  good  reasons 
sometimes  cannot  use  their  thumbs  in  wip- 
ing, and  such  resort  to  the  artificial  one  de- 


58  GRAINING 

scribed  in  paragraph  23.  While  this  has 
not  the  sensitiveness  of  the  natural  organ, 
by  practice  one  can  use  it  to  do  very  good 
work. 

50.  Combing.    The  operation  known  as 
"combing"  may  be  performed  by  the  use 
of  combs  of  various  material,  such  as  steel 
combs;  leather  combs,  which  are  simply 
sole  leather  upon  the  ends  of  which  have 
been  cut  out  with  a  knife  square  teeth  of 
such  size  as  is  desired ;  rubber  combs,  which 
are  somewhat  upon  the  same  order  and 
which  can  be  bought  ready  made,   each 
fitted  into  a  wooden  handle  as  shown  in 
Fig  10.     This,  however,  shows  one  with 
graduated  teeth  which  is  very  useful  for 
many  purposes.    Any  of  the  above  are  bet- 
ter adapted  for  certain  kinds  of  work  than 
are  any  of  the  others.     Practice  will  soon 
show  the  grainers  which  ones  to  use. 

51.  The  combing  proper  requires  more 
care  than  skill,  but  the  latter  always  counts 
in  this  as  well  as  any  of  the  other  opera- 


GRAINING  59 

tions  in  graining.  The  operator  should  be 
provided  with  clean,  soft  cotton  rags  to 
wipe  the  combs  every  time  that  they  are 
used.  Never  be  tempted  to  draw  it  over 
the  work  a  second  time.  "Get  the  habit" 
and  it  will  stay  with  you  so  it  will  become 
automatic.  Many  an  otherwise  good  job  of 
graining  has  been  ruined  in  looks  by  the 
slovenly  habit  of  using  dirty  combs.  Clean 
cut  edges  count  many  points  in  good  grain- 
ing. When  nearing  joints  it  is  a  good  plan 
to  cover  an  already  grained  or  combed  part 
with  a  small  sheet  of  tin,  which  will  pre- 
vent the  comb  from  trespassing  over  into 
forbidden  ground.  Do  not  hold  the  tin  flat 
over  the  grained  or  combed  work,  as  it 
might  mar  it,  but  let  it  touch  just  at  the 
joint,  the  hand  holding  it  at  an  angle  off  the 
face  of  it. 

52.  Combing  is  not  confined  to  oil  work 
only,  although  by  far  most  of  the  combing 
done  is  in  that  medium,  but  it  is  frequently 
resorted  to  in  distemper  work.  The  steel 


60  GRAINING 

combs  are  seldom  used  for  this  kind  of 
work,  the  rubber  ones  being  infinitely  supe- 
rior. It  is  more  difficult,  however,  and  it 
must  be  done  very  quickly,  as  the  color  will 
otherwise  be  dry,  when  it  will  be  impossible 
to  do  anything  with  it,  and  the  part  being 
combed  will  have  to  be  washed  off  and  an- 
other application  of  distemper  color  given 
it.  Quickness,  therefore,  is  an  important 
consideration  in  combing  distemper  colors ; 
cleanliness  is  just  as  essential  as  was  stated 
in  the  preceding  paragraph  for  oil  comb- 
ing, only  a  little  more  so  if  possible.  The 
operator  should  make  up  his  mind  as  to 
what  he  is  going  to  do  before  he  touches  a 
tool  and  then  stick  to  it  to  the  end,  giving 
all  his  thoughts  to  his  work. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  X. 

48.  Describe  what  is  meant  by  "wiping 
out"? 

49.  What  is  needed  for  this  operation 
and  how  done? 


GRAINING  61 

50.  What  are  the  tools  needed  in ' '  comb- 
ing"? 

51.  How  is  the  combing  done  in  oil 
graining? 

52.  How  is  combing  done  in  distemper 
work? 

LESSON  XI. 

PENCILLING  IN   THE  VEINING,  ETC. 

53.  In    water    color    work    the    heart 
growth  of  veins,  some  of  the  flaking,  knots, 
burls,  etc.,  are  done  by  pencilling  the  same 
with  a  camel's  hair  brush.    Some  is  left 
just  as  the  outlines  made  by  the  brush 
leaves  it,  but  only  in  such  outlinings  as 
those  of  knots  or  in  the  imitating  of  defects 
and  in  some  burls. 

54.  The  "pencilling"  requires  a  steady 
hand  with  a  perfect  control  of  the  freedom 
of  movement  of  the  hand  doing  the  work. 
To  insure  this  it  will  be  found  much  the 
best  way  is  to  use  a  mahl  stick  for  a  rest. 
It  will  insure  against  unsteadiness  and  will 


62  GRAINING 

enable  the  operator  to  do  his  work  just  as 
he  wants  it  and  where  he  wants  it.  It  will 
enable  him  to  give  the  heaviest  part  of  the 
stroke  at  the  center  of  the  heart  growth, 
where  it  ought  to  be,  and  to  gradually  les- 
sen its  width  toward  the  sides,  where  it  is 
not  so  full  nor  heavy. 

55.  The  operator  should  be  careful 
while  executing  his  veining  that  the  blend- 
er is  used  while  the  color  of  the  veining  put 
on  is  still  wet,  as  otherwise  it  will  not  blend 
and  the  chances  are  that  the  work  will  be 
spoiled,  or  at  least  greatly  inferior  in  qual- 
ity. (Fig.  2  shows  the  blender.)  The 
blending  itself  is  the  drawing  of  the  soft 
hair  over  the  wet  color,  which  softens  it 
and  divides  its  stiff  outlines  in  serrated, 
uneven,  pore-like,  outlines.  "While  the 
operation  is  not  a  difficult  one,  good  blend- 
ing requires  an  intimate  knowledge  of  what 
will  be  the  effects  produced  by  the  use  of 
the  tool,  as  the  blending  can  be  overdone 
as  well  as  underdone.  A  little  practical  ex- 


GRAINING  63 

perience  will  soon  teach  the  operator  its 
proper  use. 

56.  Fan  overgrainers,  as  shown  in  Fig. 
4,  come  in  various  widths.    It  was  said  in 
paragraph  14  describing  them,  that  many 
grainers  preferred  to   make   them  them- 
selves.   This  no  doubt  is  due  to  the  reason 
that  in  preparing  them  themselves  they  are 
able  to  arrange  the  hair  so  that  they  can 
get  various  effects  from  them,  such  as  grad- 
uated lines,  and  again  thick  or  thin  lines, 
etc.    But  one  can  easily  obtain  the  same  re- 
sults by  buying  a  dozen  or  two  of  the  ready 
made  ones.    They  usually  are  made  with  a 
surplus  of  hair,  and  with  a  pair  of  sharp 
scissors  the  operator  can  easily  cut  out  all 
the  superfluous  hair  from  the  parts  desired. 
With  a  good  supply  of  overgrainers  thus 
prepared  before  hand,  he  will  be  prepared 
to  do  an  endless  variety  of  veinings  in  Iine3 
equidistant,  or  graduated  to  suit. 

57.  The  fan  overgrainers  are  used  for 


64  GRAINING 

many  purposes,  not  only  in  overgraining,  as 
their  name  would  seem  to  indicate,  but  also 
in  laying  out  the  veining  adjacent  to  heart 
growths  wherever  a  succession  of  fine  lines 
are  required,  and  which  in  water  color  work 
corresponds  to  combing  in  oil  work.  The 
brush  is  dipped  into  the  distemper  color, 
then  it  is  run  through  the  teeth  of  a  coarse 
horn  comb  such  as  is  used  in  hair  combing. 
This  will  separate  the  hairs  into  lines,  when 
the  operator  can  use  it  on  his  work  by 
drawing  it  along  the  outer  edge  of  his  pen- 
cilled out  heart  growth,  and  continue  it  to 
the  outer  edge  of  the  panel.  In  overgrain- 
ing proper  it  is  used  in  many  other  ways, 
and  by  the  proper  motion  of  the  hand  many 
forms  and  variations  suitable  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  woods  being  imitated  can  be 
done.  In  this  proper  use  of  the  overgrain- 
er  the  skill  of  the  operator  will  be  shown. 
It  will  be  well  to  say  that  these  lines  made 
by  the  overgrainer  are  to  be  blended  for 
most  woods,  and  the  student  is  referred  to 


CHAINING  65 

what  was  said  regarding  how  it  should  be 
done  in  paragraph  55. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XL 

53.  What  is  said  of  the  "pencilling  in" 
of  veins,  etc.,  in  distemper  graining? 

54.  How  are  the  veins  pencilled  in? 

55.  How  is  the  * '  blending ' '  done  ? 

56.  What  is  said  of  the  fan  overgrain- 
ers? 

57.  How  are  the  fan  overgrainers  used? 

LESSON  XII. 

THE  USE  OF  GRAINING  EOLLEBS,  ETC. 

58.  As  stated  in  paragraphs  18  to  21, 
describing  Figs.  6,  7,  8  and  9,  corrugated 
rubber  tools  of  various  forms  are  used  in 
graining.    Some  kinds  of  woods  can  be 
done  complete  with  these  tools,  and  again 
their  main  character  laid  out  with  them, 
which  is  afterward  improved  by  hand  work. 
They  are  great  time  savers  and  to  the  man 
who  knows  how  to  use  them  well,  which  can 


66  GRAINING 

be  easily  learned  by  following  the  directions 
given  which  accompany  the  boxes  the  tools 
are  packed  in,  anyone  can  quickly  learn 
their  use,  and  will  find  it  of  great  help  in 
doing  their  work  quickly,  which  is  an  im- 
portant item,  especially  where  the  graining 
has  to  be  done  cheap.  They  will  be  able  to 
turn  out  very  much  better  work  than  could 
be  done  by  hand  for  the  same  money.  That 
fact  alone  if  for  no  other  reason  (and  there 
are  other  reasons  also)  entitles  them  to  a 
welcome  in  the  kit  of  progressive  grainers 
who  are  not  held  in  "awe"  by  precedents 
established  when  "grainers"  were  getting 
something  for  good  work  done  by  hand  ex- 
clusively. 

59.  While  we  are  in  the  way  of  describ- 
ing other  methods  of  graining  than  that  of 
graining  done  by  hand,  it  is  only  right  and 
proper  that  the  transfer  graining  papers 
should  be  noticed.  The  graining  upon  many 
of  these  is  very  good.  It  has  one  disadvan- 
tage in  that  on  large  jobs  there  will  be  more 


GRAINING  67 

repetition  than  is  desirable;  there  is  also 
an  automatic  indescribable  look  belonging 
to  it,  that  grates  upon  an  artistic  taste,  so 
that  while  the  graining  may  be  really  much 
better  than  much  hand  work,  yet  hand  or 
even  that  done  with  corrugated  rubber  tools 
will  please  the  average  man  better  than  the 
more  perfect  automatic  work  done  with  the 
graining  paper. 

60.  In  graining  with  transfer  paper, 
the  paper  to  be  used  in  the  panels,  stiles  and 
rails  should  be  cut  into  strips  a  trifle  wider 
than  desired  for  the  actual  space  to  be 
grained.  The  ground  coat  should  be  an  ap- 
propriate one  for  the  kind  of  wood  to  be 
imitated.  The  process  of  the  transferring 
is  similar  to  that  used  for  all  transfers; 
the  paper  is  applied  to  its  proper  place, 
which  it  must  cover  fully,  then  the  operator 
proceeds  to  wet  the  back  of  the  transfer 
paper  with  a  sponge  which  has  been  dipped 
in  clean  water.  In  a  few  moments  after 
the  wetting  the  paper  can  be  pulled  loose 


68  GRAINING 

from  the  surface  over  which  it  is  applied, 
laid  aside  flat  to  dry,  and  an  exact  replica 
of  the  graining  printed  upon  the  face  of  the 
paper  will  be  left  upon  it.  These  transfer 
paper  strips  can  be  utilized  several  times 
before  the  design  is  dimmed  too  much  for 
use. 

After  the  completion  of  the  work  it  must 
be  varnished  in  order  to  hold  it  on,  as  any 
other  distemper  work  must  be. 

61.  There  is  another  form  of  graining 
paper  which  has  just  been  patented  in  Ger- 
many, which  is  not  a  transfer  paper  really 
and  which  does  excellent  work.  By  some 
patent  process  the  paper  is  made  upon  the 
face  of  the  woods  they  represent;  every 
pore  and  detail  of  the  wood  is  perfectly  rep- 
resented. The  ground  color  is  covered 
over  with  oil  graining  color  the  same  as  for 
hand  wiping.  Then  the  graining  paper, 
cut  into  proper  sized  strips,  are  placed  over 
the  surface  and  the  back  of  the  paper  is 
rubbed  over  with  a  specially  made  brush 


GRAINING  69 

all  over,  taking  care  that  the  hands  do  not 
touch  it  any  where  except  upon  the  edge, 
which  should  extend  over  sufficiently  for 
this  purpose;  then  the  paper  is  lifted  off 
and  can  immediately  be  used  again.  It 
leaves  the  job  as  if  it  had  been  "wiped 
out,"  but  much  better  of  course  than  99 
out  of  100  men  could  possibly  do  it  by 
hand.  It  is  somewhat  costly  and  outside  of 
the  samples  which  were  given  the  author 
for  testing  he  has  never  seen  any.  So  far  it 
has  not  been  imported  in  this  country  in  a 
regular  way,  but  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
it  will  soon  be. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XII. 

58.  What  is  said  of  the  use  of  corru- 
gated rubber  graining  tools  f 

59.  What  is  said  of  "transfer  graining 
paper"? 

60.  How  is  transfer  graining  done  I 

61.  What  is  said  of  a  new ' '  wiping  out" 
paper? 


70  GRAINING 

LESSON  XIII. 

CRAYONS  FOR  MAKING  FINE  VEINS. 

62.  In  such  woods  as  maple,  cherry,  etc., 
the  veining  consists  of  very  fine  lines  which 
show  no  blending  in  the  natural  woods. 
They  are  so  fine  that  it  would  be  very  diffi- 
cult to  put  them  in  with  a  camel's  hair 
brush  or  pencil.  Heretofore  it  has  been 
the  practice  of  grainers  to  take  colors  such 
as  they  wished,  and  by  mixing  with  china 
clay  and  gum  arabic  mucilage  compound 
these  into  a  mass  which  they  rolled  out  and 
cut  into  strips  in  order  to  make  crayons  out 
of  them.  The  process  is  not  very  difficult, 
but  the  proper  blending  and  sizing  must  be 
carefully  done  or  the  crayon  may  be  so  hard 
that  it  will  not  mark  on  the  wood,  or  so  soft 
that  the  varnish  will  rub  up  the  color. 
These  crayons  in  wood  may  be  bought  in 
many  of  the  supply  stores.  One  fault  with 
most  of  them  is  that  they  are  not  sufficiently 
sized  to  hold  on  the  color  while  the  varnish 
is  applied.  This  the  manufacturers  must 


GRAINING  71 

supply  or  their  goods  will  be  forced  out  of 
the  market,  in  so  far  at  least  as  the  use  that 
is  made  of  them  by  the  graining  trade  is 
concerned. 

63.  The   crayons   are   sharpened  to   a 
point,  and  the  veinings,  knotting  and  burls 
are  outlined  by  their  means.     They  are  used 
only  where  fine  lines  are  required  that  are 
sharp  and  unblended.    They  are  used  in 
the  same  manner  as  ordinary  graphite  pen- 
cils are.    Their  use  offers  no  difficulty  even 
to  a  beginner  other  than  the  skill  shown  in 
making  the  right  markings  in  the  right 
place,  which  is  a  matter  of  study  before 
using  them. 

64.  Mottling    is    an    operation    which 
greatly  enhances  the  value  of  graining  in 
many  woods.    This  mottling  may  be  done 
by  means  of  the  so-called  mottling  brushes, 
of  which  many  are  shown  in  Fig.  5,  in  ei- 
ther oil  or  distemper  graining.    In  the  pre- 
ceding sentence  the  words  "may  be  done" 
are  used,  because  many  very  good  grainers 


72  GRAINING 

never  use  them,  but  depend  upon  their  rub- 
bing in  brushes,  etc.  Again  the  sponge  in 
distemper  work  is  used  and  by  the  proper 
use  of  the  badger  blender  beautiful  mot- 
tlings  are  made  without  the  use  of  any 
brush  at  all. 

65.  The  sponge  is  held  in  the  hand  and 
by  pressure  and  release  of  the  same  in  go- 
ing over  the  surface  the  color  is  unevenly 
distributed,  which,  when  properly  blended, 
will  form  mottlings  coarse  or  fine,  long  or 
short,   as   wanted.    It   will   require   some 
practice  in  order  to  obtain  a  good  control 
of  the  sponge. 

66.  The  sponge  is  an  invaluable  aid  to 
the  grainer  in  distemper  work,  and  the  stu- 
dent should  spare  no  pains  in  learning  to 
master  its  use.    With  it  not  only  mottlings 
may  be  made,  but  the  main  features  and 
character  of  all  the  burled  growths  of  wal- 
nut, oak  roots,  pollard  oak,  bird's  eye  ma- 
ple, sycamore,  mahogany,  etc.,  may  be  laid1 
out;  most  of  it  to  be  blended,  and  when 


GRAINING  73 

dry  overgrained  and  finished  with  either 
crayon  pencils,  camel  hair  knottings  and  lin- 
ings done  with  various  distemper  colors  or 
with  the  fan  overgrainers,  or  by  combina- 
tions of  all  the  above. 

67.  The  above  comprises  all  the  opera- 
tions done  in  graining  woods  that  can  be 
given  a  general  description  of.  Each  kind 
of  wood  will  require  some  of  their  use. 
Not  all,  however,  must  be  given  in  the  same 
manner,  but  must  be  adapted  to  suit  the 
particular  woods  one  may  be  trying  to  imi- 
tate. As  occasion  may  require  reference 
will  be  made  to  some  of  the  paragraphs  giv- 
ing the  proper  information  as  to  "how  to 
doit." 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XHI. 

63.  How  are  graining  crayons  made? 

64.  What  is  said  about  graining  cray- 
ons? 

65.  How  is  graining  done  with  sponges? 


74  GRAINING 

66.  What  is  said  of  the  use  of  sponges 
in  burled' graining? 

67.  What  is  said  concerning  the  special 
use  to  be  made  of  the  various  operations 
in  graining  described  in  the  previous  les- 
sons? 

LESSON  XIV. 

GENERAL,  REVIEW  OF  WOODS. 

68.  Woods  may  be   divided  into   two 
general  classes : 

1st.  Those  that  are  close  grained  and 
which  when  sawed  into  boards  show  very 
fine  pores,  or  perhaps  very  little  if  any  per- 
ceptible to  the  naked  eye,  as  "holly,"  for 
instance,  and  in  a  lesser  degree  in  "satin- 
wood." 

2d.  Those  that  are  composed  of  long, 
coarse  ligaments,  which  when  sawed  into 
boards  show  a  great  number  of  pores,  es- 
pecially when  the  growth  is  comparatively 
regular,  as  in  chestnut,  walnut,  etc.;  with 


GRAINING  75 

a  great  number  which  lie  between  the  two 
extremes. 

69.  There  might  be  added  a  third  divi- 
sion for  those  woods  which  have  a  jerky, 
crosswise  fashion  of  growing,  which  to  the 
unwary  look  as  if  there  was  no  system  in 
their  growth,  as  in  sycamore,  rosewood,  etc., 
but  which  they  have  as  regular  as  any  other 
just  the  same,  as  a  kinky  haired  American 
of  African  extraction  could  truthfully  claim 
for  his  tangled  up  specimen  as  against  the 
rigid  growth  of  that  of  the  American  In- 
dian.   As  with  hair,  it  will  be  found  that 
most  of  the  woods  which  grow  in  a  tangled 
way  are  composed  of  very  fine  fibres,  which 
grow  closely  together  and  therefore  can  be 
classed  in  class  1. 

70.  Before  commencing  the  descriptions 
of  the  graining  of  the  various  woods  it  was 
thought  best  to  examine  some  few  general 
characteristics  which  belong  to  each  class, 
and  the  student  will  then  be  able  to  tell  at 
sight  almost  what  may  be  the  best  manner 


76     t  GRAINING 

in  which  the  graining  shall  proceed,  either 
in  oil  or  in  distemper.  Woods  of  class  one, 
as  a  rule  being  close  grained,  need  no  stip- 
pling, as  few  pores  show  up  separately  as 
such,  and  it  was  shown  that  this  is  the  main 
object  of  stippling. 

On  the  other  hand,  nearly  all  woods  that 
are  classed  in  class  two,  but  more  especially 
those  which  are  on  the  extreme  side  of  that 
class  should  be  stippled  by  all  means,  and 
the  others  are  greatly  helped  by  a  partial 
stippling  at  least. 

Included  in  as  stippling  must  be  added 
the  check  roller  work,  as  this  may  be  done 
in  such  a  way  as  to  replace  the  stippling 
done  with  the  flogger  for  certain  woods,  in 
the  graining  of  some  peculiar  specimen  of 
quartered  oak  especially. 

71.  Before  attempting  to  do  any  grain- 
ing, the  student  is  earnestly  advised  to  pro- 
cure a  number  of  small  pieces  of  veneers 
of  the  various  woods;  to  glue  them  over 
smooth  boards,  fill  them  with  a  good  hard- 


GRAINING  77 

[wood  filler  if  open  grained;  if  not  shellac 
them  over  with  two  coats  of  shellac,  which 
he  should  also  give  to  the  open  wood  sam- 
ple after  having  filled  them  and  smoothed 
them  properly.  Then  give  them  one  or  two 
coats  of  good  varnish,  when  he  will  have  ob- 
ject lessons  which  will  prove  invaluable  to 
him.  Let  him  not  confine  himself  to  one, 
two  or  three  specimens  of  the  same  wood, 
but  let  him  pick  out  as  many  as  he  can 
afford  to  do,  in  order  that  he  may  study 
their  variations  and  different  modes  of 
growth,  or  he  may  get  stuck  into  ruts  and 
routine  in  his  style  of  graining  which  he 
must  try  to  avoid  as  much  as  possible. 

There  is  nor  cannot  be  any  better  teacher 
than  these  samples  will  be.  They  need  not 
cost  much  either.  Frequently  they  can  be 
obtained  for  a  song  at  some  of  the  furni- 
ture factories  from  ends  that  are  two  short 
for  use  in  their  regular  work. 

72.  As  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  at 
least  in  practicing  studies  as  to  the  colors 


78  GRAINING 

that  are  used  in  doing  graining,  the  stu- 
dent can  paint  a  ground  color  upon  any  con- 
venient board  or  old  door  and  practice  upon 
it.  He  had  better  have  several ;  at  least,  he 
should  have  two— one  for  practicing  grain- 
ing in  oil  and  another  for  graining  in  dis- 
temper. With  plenty  of  rags  and  turpen- 
tine or  benzine  he  can  wipe  out  his  work  as 
easily  as  upon  a  blackboard,  and  he  can 
recommence  it  again  and  again  until  he  is 
ready  to  quit  and  then  he  can  wipe  it  off, 
and  it  will  be  ready  for  the  next  time.  This 
advice  is  good,  for  it  will  not  do  for  the  be- 
ginner to  try  his  hand  upon  actual  work 
until  he  is  sufficiently  sure  of  his  skill  that 
he  will  not  make  a  botch  of  it.  He  can  try 
all  the  various  general  operations  men- 
tioned above,  and  apply  them  as  nearly  as 
he  can  to  the  particular  needs  of  the  wood 
he  wishes  to  imitate,  referring  first  to  the 
special  details  that  are  given  under  each  of 
the  woods  in  subsequent  chapters. 


GRAINING  79 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XIV. 

68.  How  may  all  the  various  woods  be 
classed? 

69.  What  is  said  of  woods  of  gnarled 
growths  f 

70.  When  do  the  wood  imitations  need 
stippling  ? 

71.  What  is  said  regarding  the  prepara- 
tion of  various   samples   of  veneers  for 
study? 

72.  What  advice  is  given  about  prepar- 
ing practice  boards  for  graining  study? 

LESSON  XV. 

GRAINING  OAK. 

73.  Oak  graining  has  always  been  in  the 
lead  in  the  quantity  of  it  that  is  done,  and 
it  is  no  wonder.    It  offers  so  many  varia- 
tions, and  in  either  in  its  heart  growths  or  in 
its  quarter  sawed  condition  an  endless  num- 
ber of  forms  can  be  indulged  in  which  are 
all  pleasing  to  look  at.    It  can  be  grained  in 


80  GRAINING 

oil  or  in  distemper  in  both  of  its  forms  and 
in  combinations  of  the  two. 

HEAET  GROWTH  IN  OIL. 

74.  The  ground  for  all  oaks  is   buff. 
Light  oak  requires  a  cream  tone  of  it  which 
can  be  deepened  for  the  darker  shades. 
For  red  and  black  oak  a  trifle  of  red  can 
be  added  to  the  buff,  which  is  made  from 
some  good  ocher  added  to  white  lead.    (See 
paragraphs    26    to    30    about    preparing 
grounds  under  various  conditions.) 

75.  The  graining  colors  proper  are  pre- 
pared to  suit  the  shade  of  wood  desired 
from  raw  sienna,  raw  umber  and  for  very 
dark  antique  oak  with  a  little  ivory  black 
added.    The  color  should  be  megilped  in 
order  to  make  it  comb  and  wipe  clean. 
(See  paragraphs  33  to  36.) 

The  wiping  should  be  done  as  advised  in 
paragraphs  48  and  49.  Then  combed  as 
stated  in  paragraphs  50  to  52. 

76.  The  graining  will  be  improved  if  the 


GRAINING  81 

same  is  overgrained  after  the  wiping  out 
and  combing  coat  has  become  hardened. 
This  must  not  be  overdone  to  look  well.  It 
consists  simply  in  using  some  of  the  grain- 
ing color  used  before,  and  in  touching  up  a 
few  places  on  the  grained  work.  This 
darkens  them  some  and  these  variations  of 
color  enriches  it.  The  student  will  notice 
it  upon  natural  wood  usually  where  the 
veining  makes  a  turn,  etc.  Study  nature, 
but  do  not  overdo  it. 

77.  When  the  overgraining  is  dry  the 
job  is  ready  for  varnishing.    In  varnishing 
use  an  elastic  varnish  as  much  as  possible, 
as  both  the  ground  coats  and  the  graining 
colors  contain  oil  and  a  hard,  quick-drying 
varnish  will  not  be  so  likely  to  give  and  ac- 
commodate itself  to  these  as  an  elastic  one 
will.    As  the  varnishing  coats  which  follow 
graining  of  all  kinds  are  about  the  same 
for  all  woods  it  will  not  be  necessary  to  re- 
peat each  time  what  is  said  here. 

78.  In    varnishing    over    distempered 


82  GRAINING 

work  a  quicker  and  harder  varnish  can  be 
used  than  that  named  above.  As  many  pre- 
fer a  wax  finish  to  varnishing,  this  can  be 
applied  over  the  work.  The  ready  pre- 
pared wax  finishes  are  best  to  use ;  they  are 
easily  applied  with  a  brush  or  even  a  rag 
and  afterward  polished  over  with  a  cloth  or 
a  hand  polishing  glove  made  of  lamb  skin 
with  the  wool  left  on.  It  will  soon  polish 
up  into  a  soft-toned  subdued  gloss  which 
is  pleasing  and  imitates  " rubbed  work"  in 
hardwood  finishing. 

CHAINING  OAK  HEART  GROWTH  IN  DISTEMPER. 

78.  It  will  be  well  not  to  have  the  ground 
coats  too  oily  for  graining  in  distemper,  as 
it  may  be  difficult  to  spread  the  distemper 
color  over  it,  especially  in  cool  weather. 
On  the  other  hand  again,  it  must  not  be  too 
flat,  as  then  the  colors  will  sink  into  it  and 
if  from  any  cause  one  desires  to  wash  them 
off  they  will  be  indelibly  marked  out  upon 
the  ground,  and  will  at  the  least  look  dirty. 


GRAINING  83 

The  check  roller  can  be  used  to  good  ad- 
vantage in  putting  in  a  few  checks  here  and 
there,  and  a  little  fine  stippling  on  the  side 
away  from  where  the  main  heart  growth  is 
to  be  pencilled  in  with  the  camel's  hair 
brush  will  help  the  looks  of  it.  When  dry 
proceed  to  put  in  the  heart  growth,  using  the 
overgrainer  wherever  possible  in  doing  the 
fine  line  work  over  the  stippling.  It  goes 
without  the  saying  that  all  the  veining,  both 
heart  growth  and  fine  lines,  must  be  well 
blended  with  the  badger  hair  brush. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XV. 

73.  What  is  said  of  oak  graining  in  gen- 
eral? 

74.  How  are  oak  ground  tints  to  be 
made? 

75.  How  are  the  colors  to  be  applied? 

76.  How  is  the  graining  overgrained? 

77.  How  is  the  varnishing  to  be  done? 

78.  How  is  wax  polish  finish  applied? 


84:  GRAINING 

LESSON  XVI. 

OAK  GRAINING— CONTINUED. 
QUARTERED  OAK   GRAINING  IN  OIL. 

79.  There  are  a  great  number  of  ways 
of  graining  quartered  oak  and  when  one 
says  that  it  is  imitated  in  oil  graining,  but 
very  little  more  information  is  conveyed 
than  that  the  work  is  executed  in  that  me- 
dium instead  of  in  distemper  color.    The 
manner  of  doing  it  may  vary  greatly,  as 
well  as  the  growth  itself,  which  is  infinite 
almost.    It  is,   therefore,  a  matter  upon 
which  little  more  information  can  be  given 
without  the  actual  showing  than  the  re- 
hearsing over  of  general  principles.    If  the 
student  has  provided  himself  with  a  num- 
ber of  samples  of  quartered  oak  veneers 
and  has  practiced  their  reproduction  in  oil 
and  in  distemper,  he  will  have  gained  an  ex- 
perience that  type  and  printing  ink  cannot 
possibly  teach  him. 

80.  The  grounds  are  to  be  the  same  as 


GRAINING  85 

described  in  the  heart  growth  graining  of 
oak.  The  graining  color  should  be  * '  rubbed 
in"  very  evenly,  but  neither  too  thick  nor 
too  thin.  In  most  of  the  work,  and  that  is 
naturally  that  which  one  tries  to  describe  in 
giving  general  directions  in  graining  a  cer- 
tain wood,  the  surface  should  be  combed 
over  with  rubber  combs  and  afterward 
split  up  with  a  fine  steel  comb  to  break  up 
the  vein  lines.  Some  skill  may  be  shown 
in  this,  for  if  done  properly  and  at  the  right ! 
angle  the  lines  will  appear  as  thickly  stud- 
ded pores,  but  if  not,  anything  but  that. 

81.  The  method  of  "wiping  out"  is  de- 
scribed in  paragraphs  48  and  49.    Remove 
all  the  flakes  of  the  larger  sorts  first,  which 
usually  are  to  be  found  in  the  center  of  the 
wood  samples,  keeping  in  mind  a  definite 
idea  of  what  the  work  is  to  represent ;  this 
lays  out  the  general  character  of  the  wood. 

82.  The  subsequent  wiping  out  is  to  be 
done  in  accordance  with  the  main  flaking, 
gradually  lessening  the  size  of  the  second- 


86  GRAINING 

ary  flakings  to  the  outer  edge,  where  usu- 
ally they  are  found  much  more  numerous. 

83.  The    graining   may  be   much   im- 
proved by  softening  the  edges  by  using  a 
very  soft  clean  cotton  cloth  very  lightly 
upon  their  lower  edge.    The  proper  doing 
of  this  requires  some  skill  and  usually  is 
shunned  by  the  cheap  fellow,  as  it  takes 
some  little  time  as  well  as  skill. 

84.  Overgraining  quartered  oak  may  be 
the  means  of  greatly  improving  its  looks, 
especially  where  a  gnarly  and  knotty  speci- 
men is  attempted.    As  stated  before,  this 
is  done  by  the  application  of  the  color  in  oil 
used  in  the  "rubbed  in"  coat  to  such  parts 
which  it  is  desired  should  look  darker  than 
the  rest. 

85.  Sometimes  the  graining  is  finished 
up  in  water  colors.    The  graining  must,  of 
course,  be  thoroughly  dry  in  order  that  the 
distemper  colors  may  take  hold  over  it. 
Most  beautiful  effects  can  be  obtained  by 
this  dual  method  of  graining  quartered  oak. 


GRAINING  87 

It  requires  skill  in  the  operator,  but  good 
judgment  and  experience  the  more,  as  it  is 
an  easy  matter  to  overdo  it,  when  instead  of 
a  thing  of  beauty  it  becomes  an  eye  sore. 

86.  Varnishing  is  the  final  operation  in 
all  kinds  of  graining,  but  the  graining  may 
also  be  waxed  polished  as  noted  in  the  pre- 
ceding lesson. 

Much  more  could  be  written  as  to  the 
many  various  methods  that  are  being  used 
in  the  graining  of  oak,  especially  of  quar- 
tered oak,  but  the  space  limit  of  this  manual 
is  too  confined  to  attempt  it.  The  direc- 
tions given  will  suffice  to  indicate  to  the  stu- 
dent how  to  proceed  and  as  he  progresses 
along,  the  variations  in  the  manner  of  doing 
the  work  will  suggest  themselves  to  him  and 
he  will  grow  into  them  naturally. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XVI. 

79.  What  is  said  in  a  general  way  on  the 
graining  of  quarter  sawed  oak? 

80.  What  is  said  of  the  rubbing  in  coat 
and  combing? 


88  GRAINING 

81.  How  are  the  flakes  and  champs  put 
in? 

82.  What  is  said  of  the  wiping  out? 

83.  How  are  the  edges  to  be  softened? 

84.  How  is  the  overgraining  done? 

85.  What  is  said  of  combination  oil  and 
distemper  work? 

86.  How  is  the  work  finished? 

LESSON  XVII. 

GRAINING  QUARTERED  OAK  IN  DISTEMPER. 

87.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  quartered 
oak  graining  that  is  done  in  distemper  in 
certain    localities,    especially    where    the 
grainers  have  come  into  the  knack  of  it. 
When  it  is  well  done  it  is  fully  as  good  as 
when  done  in  oil.     The  quality  of  the  work 
is  what  counts,  and  it  is  just  as  easy  to 
produce  an  eye  sore  in  the  one  as  it  is  in  the 
other. 

88.  It  is  true  that  the  operator  has  no 
time  to  take  a  nap  and  hardly  to  bat  his 
eyes,  and  that  no  doubt  is  the  reason  why 


GRAINING  89 

so  few  grainers  attempt  quartered  oak  in 
distemper.  The  colors  do  dry  very  quickly, 
so  the  graining  must  be  done  without  hesi- 
tation or  waste  of  time.  If  it  has  been  prac- 
ticed on  the  lesson  boards  mentioned  in 
paragraph  72  no  one  who  has  succeeded  on 
them  need  be  afraid  of  tackling  it  on  door 
panels,  etc. 

89.  Everything  in  the  way  of  colors, 
sponges,  rags,  overgrainers,  blenders  and 
tools  being  ready  and  within  reach,  the 
woodwork  to  be  grained  should  be 
washed  over  with  water  into  which 
vinegar  has  been  poured.  When  it 
has  become  nearly  but  not  quite  dry, 
proceed  to  lay  on  the  color  in  streaks 
with  the  OTergrainers,  then  with  the  rubber 
or  fine  steel  combs  run  through  the  lines  in 
order  to  break  them  up  and  to  serrate  them, 
and  immediately  proceed  with  the  rag  and 
thumb  or  the  rubber  substitute  for  it  to  wipe 
out  the  champs  and  flakes  in  the  way  and 
manner  described  in  the  wiping  out  of  oak 


90  GRAINING 

in  oil  graining;  soften  the  edges  by  using 
the  soft  cotton  rag  in  the  same  way  also. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  one  panel  at  a 
time  is  all  that  should  be  colored  up,  and 
even  this  will  be  found  too  much  by  many, 
but  it  can  be  done  and  it  is  not  so  difficult  as 
it  looks  to  be ;  only,  as  said  before,  there  is 
no  time  to  think  of  the  "girl  you  left  be- 
hind you"  or  anything  else  but  doing  the 
work. 

90.  For  a  change  dark  flakings  and  other 
flaked  veinings  may  be  put  in  instead  of 
light  ones.  In  this  sort  of  quartered  oak 
graining  the  whole  thing  is  reversed.  The 
color  is  applied  evenly  but  solidly  over  the 
panel  and  immediately  combed  with  rubber 
combs  and  split  as  related  in  the  preceding 
paragraph ;  then  with  the  camel  hair  pencil 
brush  proceed  to  pencil  on  the  flakes  and 
champs  as  desired,  slightly  blending  them 
with  the  badger  blender.  This  is  not  so  dif- 
ficult to  execute  as  by  wiping  out,  because 
it  does  not  matter  about  hurrying. 


GRAINING  91 

91.  In  either  method  the  use  of  the  check 
roller  can  be  resorted  to  to  improve  the 
looks  of  the  graining,  it  is  best  to  delay  it 
until  the  graining  has  been  completed,  as 
then  it  can  be  put  only  in  such  parts  as 
really  require  it,  while  if  put  on  before- 
hand it  may  be  that  they  may  be  placed 
where  they  should  not.    They  are  not  es- 
sential and,  as  stated  before,  really  a  detri- 
ment when  not  used  rightly.    The  expert 
who  knows  where  to  use  them,  however,  ob- 
tains a  more  natural  finish  by  their  use. 

92.  The  overgraining  ought  to  be  done 
in  oil  colors  and  put  on  very  thinly,  then 
with  clean  cotton  rags  wipe  it  off  from  such 
parts  that  are  required  to  be  light,  which 
will  give  the  shading  as  if  it  had  been  done 
in  oil  over  oil  graining  with  the  difference 
that  in  shading  the  latter  the  overgraining 
color  is  applied  only  where  it  is  wanted  and 
requires  no  wiping  out. 

93.  Where  distemper  graining  is  over- 
grained  with  oil  colors  it  practically  be- 


92  GRAINING 

comes  the  same  as  oil  graining  and  that 
alone  will  usually  protect  it  against  acci- 
dents caused  by  water  washing  it  off,  but  as 
the  finish  does  not  look  even,  that  must  be 
supplied  as  in  the  previous  graining  de- 
scribed, by  either  waxing  or  varnishing,  or 
a  combination  of  the  two  as  related  in  para- 
graph 77. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XVII. 

87.  What  is  said  of  quartered  oak  grain- 
ing in  distemper? 

88.  Why  are  some  grainers  afraid  to 
undertake  graining  it  in  distemper? 

89.  How  is  the  wiping  out  done  ? 

90.  How  is  dark  flake  graining  done? 

91.  How  may  the  check  roller  be  used? 

92.  How  should  distemper  graining  be 
overgrained  ? 

93.  How  is  distemper  graining  to  be  fin- 
ished ? 


GRAINING  93 

LESSON  XVIII. 

GRAINING  ASH. 

94.  Ash  graining  is  very  similar  to  oak 
graining,  and  but  that  the  growth  is  some- 
what coarser  than  that  of  oak,  and  that  it  is 
usually  more  evenly  veined,  at  least  in  the 
American  species,  the  student  would  find 
no  need  of  further  directions.    It  is  some- 
what more  open,  too,  showing  considerable 
porousness  in  some  of  its  growth,  so  much 
so  that  some  grainers  stipple  it  as  for  wal- 
nut, but  flog  it  finer  and  the  color  used  be- 
ing more  subdued  these  pores  do  not  show 
up  so  prominently.    This,  of  course,  relates 
to  the  graining  it  in  water  colors  mainly, 
although  it  works  nicely  in  oil  for  wiping 
out  also,  especially  when  the  color  used  is 
for  dark  ash. 

95.  The  ground  should  be  very  nearly 
that  required  for  oak  graining,  just  a  trifle 
darker  than  is  required  for  light  oak.    This, 
as  in  oak,  is  variable,  and  one  must  be 
guided  by  what  finish  is  intended  to  be 


94  GRAINING 

given.  Even  the  natural  specimens  vary 
greatly,  and  with  the  present  fashion  of 
staining  woods  into  all  sorts  of  outlandish 
hues  one  must  take  the  cue  as  to  what  the 
ground  shall  be  from  the  color  used  on  the 
finish  as  stated  before. 

If  it  is  finished  in  the  natural  color  be- 
longing to  ash,  the  color  of  the  ground  can 
be  made  from  ochre  added  to  white  lead  as 
the  base  color,  using  more  or  less  of  it  as  a 
lighter  or  darker  shade  is  desired. 

96.  The  graining  of  ash  in  oil  is  done  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  that  which  is 
related  for  oil  grain  of  oak  in  paragraphs 
75  and  76.  As  the  growth  in  the  American 
varieties  is  straighter  grained  than  that 
of  oak,  there  will  be  no  dofficulty  in  wiping 
it  out,  only  that  the  coarser  growth  must  be 
reproduced  as  naturally  as  possible.  The 
colors  and  megilp  will  be  also  about  the 
same  as  for  oak  in  the  natural  tone,  and 
such  other  coloring  matter  must  be  added 
as  found  necessary  to  produce  any  of  the 


GRAINING  95 

stained  effects  wanted  in  others.  If  the 
ground  is  stippled  before  the  wiping  out, 
it  should  be  done  with  raw  umber  and  raw 
sienna  in  distemper ;  it  will  be  well  to  reduce 
their  strength  by  the  addition  of  whiting  in 
order  that  the  stippling  may  not  appear  too 
prominent. 

97.  The  graining  of  ash  in  distemper  is 
very  easily  acquired  and  presents  but  little 
difficulty  to  one  who  has  his  mind  imbued 
with  the  main  characteristics  of  its  growth. 
The  graining  may  be  done  with  or  without 
stippling,  but  if  the  stippling  is  well  done 
it  will  improve  it.    The  veining  is  done  with 
the  camel's  hair  brush,  and  the  blending 
should  follow  it  up  quickly  so  as  to  divide 
up  the  veining  before  it  has  had  time  to  set. 
This  will  enable  the  washing  up  of  the  stip- 
pling by  the  pressure  of  the  blender,  and 
will  leave  a  paler  base  for  the  veining, 
which  by  the  stronger  contrast  will  appear 
more  natural. 

98.  Ash  is  overgrained  for  the  same 


96  GRAINING 

purpose  as  related  of  oak.  It  shows  up  the 
darker  parts,  or  if  they  may  be  so  called, 
the  nerves  of  the  wood.  This  should  not  be 
overdone,  however,  as  it  will  defeat  the  very 
purpose  for  which  it  is  done  at  all.  It  is 
better  not  to  overgrain  at  all  than  to  over- 
grain  too  much,  and  the  student  had  much 
better  do  too  little  of  it  than  to  err  upon 
the  opposite  side.  The  color  used  for  over- 
graining  is  oil  colors,  as  related  for  oak 
graining  in  paragraph  92. 

99.  Hungarian  ash  is  so  very  much  dif- 
ferent from  the  American  species  in  its 
growth  that  it  might  be  well  to  cut  it  loose 
altogether  from  the  ash  group  and  to  give 
it  a  place  by  itself.  It  resembles  somewhat 
the  growth  sometimes  seen  in  some  yellow 
pine  specimens.  It  is  very  wavy  and  the 
saw  cutting  across  them  the  veins  appear 
contorted  into  all  kinds  of  circling  growths, 
but  with  all  this  widening  out  suddenly  of 
two  lines  which  nearly  meet  together,  there 
is  a  system  in  it  and  none  ever  cross  over 


GRAINING  97 

each  other.  The  student  must  study  a  nat- 
ural specimen  of  it  in  order  to  understand 
this  spiral  and  twisting  system  of  growths, 
and  when  he  sees  through  it  he  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  reproducing  it  in  water  colors, 
which  is  the  only  manner  Hungarian  ash  is 
ever  grained.  It  is  possible  to  grain  it  in 
oil,  but  the  time  required  to  wipe  it  out  will 
prevent  grainers  from  ever  attempting  it 
the  second  time. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XVIH. 

94.  What  is  said  about  the  graining  of 
ash? 

95.  What  is  a  proper  ground  for  the 
graining  of  ash? 

96.  How  is  ash  grained  in  oil  ? 

97.  How  is  ash  grained  in  water  colors? 

98.  How  should  ash  be  overgrained? 

99.  How  is  Hungarian  ash  grained  ? 


98  GRAINING 

LESSON  XIX. 

GRAINING  CHESTNUT  AND  MAPLE. 

100.  The  graining  of  chestnut  presents 
no  difficulty  either  to  one  who  has  a  good 
knowledge  of  the  handling  of  graining  tools. 
Its  general  character  is  much  the  same  as 
that  of  oak  and  ash.    It  differs  from  either, 
however,  and  has  a  growth  entirely  its  own. 
Its   principal   points   are:    Coarseness   of 
veining ;  its  fibres  being  thick  and  when  cut 
across  by  the  saw  present  numerous  coarse 
pores  which  must  be  represented  by  stip- 
pling coarsely  and  somewhat  irregularly 
flogged  on,  as  it  shows  only  a  few  in  parts 
where  the  saw  has  not  cut  the  fibres  across 
either  squarely  or  slanting. 

101.  The  graining  of  chestnut  may  be 
done  in  either  oil  by  wiping  or  in  distemper. 
By  either  method  it  will  be  best  to  stipple 
it  in  the  manner  stated  in  the  previous  par- 
agraph—rather coarsely.    The  ground  is  a 
light  buff,  just  about  such  as  described  for 
oak  or  ash,  and  may  vary  to  suit  the  grain- 


GRAINING  99 

ing  and  grainer.  It  can  be  wiped  out  easily 
in  oil,  but  much  the  best  way  is  to  grain  it 
in  distemper,  as  it  is  easier  and  more  quick- 
ly done.  The  veining  is  put  on  with  a  cam- 
el's hair  brush  and  blended  with  the  badger 
hair  blender  before  the  color  sets.  The 
veining  being  coarse  is  easily  put  on.  Its 
growth  is  not  nearly  as  regular  as  that  of 
ash  and  presents  much  variation  in  its 
forms.  The  color  used  for  the  stippling 
should  be  the  same  as  given  for  ash  stip- 
pling, but  should  have  but  little  whiting 
added  to  it,  as  the  pores  must  appear  coarse 
and  prominent.  The  colors  used  in  either 
oil  or  distemper  graining  are  raw  sienna 
deepened  with  raw  and  burnt  umber  to  suit. 

MAPLE. 

102.  The  graining  of  maple  differs  ma- 
terially from  that  of  the  woods  described 
heretofore.  In  color  it  is  on  the  same  or- 
der, however,  of  a  light  buff  tone.  It 
should  be  given  a  ground  color  just  off  the 
white  by  the  addition  of  a  trifle  of  ochre  to 


100  GRAINING 

the  white  lead  base.  There  is  considerable 
variation  in  this  and  if  one  is  required  to 
match  or  imitate  some  aged  maple  the  gen- 
eral tone  will  need  to  be  much  deeper,  and 
may  require  a  ground  as  deep  toned  as  that 
of  oak  or  ash,  as  maple  darkens  consider- 
ably by  age. 

103.  Again  as  fashion  has  decreed  that 
maple  should  be  stained  a  light  gray  one 
has  to  grain  it  in  imitation  of  that  and  the 
ground  must  then  be  made  by.  the  addition 
of  lamp  black  to  the  white  base  sufficiently 
to  make  a  faint  pearl  gray.  The  veining 
proper  is  not  very  prominent  in  maple. 
This  consists  of  very  fine  lines  with  little  if 
any  feathering.  Maple  is  a  very  close  wood 
and  shows  but  little  if  any  porousness, 
therefore  should  never  be  stippled.  The 
chief  beauty  of  ordinary  maple  lays  in  its 
mottlings  and  not  in  its  veinings.  Plain 
maple  being  what  is  now  under  considera- 
tion, curled  and  bird's  eye  maple  will  be 
taken  up  in  a  separate  lesson. 


GRAINING  101 

104.  Plain  maple  is  never  grained  in  oil 
as  it  would  be  too  tedious  to  imitate  it  by 
wiping.  Therefore  its  graining  by  dis- 
temper work  is  the  only  method  worth  the 
while  to  describe.  To  be  able  to  grain  it 
well  the  student  must  have  its  character 
well  made  out— in  his  head  at  least.  The 
color  if  the  wood  is  grained  in  its  natural 
color  is  made  from  raw  sienna  weakened 
down  to  suit  by  the  addition  of  whiting. 
The  character  of  the  wood  is  best  produced 
by  the  application  of  the  color  with  a 
sponge.  This  should  be  blended  at  once  and 
if  the  color  has  been  properly  applied  with 
the  sponge,  the  mottlings  produced  by  the 
blending  of  the  color  will  usually  suffice  and 
a  few  more  of  a  deeper  tone  may  be  added 
in  the  overgraining.  As  soon  as  dry,  which 
requires  but  a  few  minutes,  the  veining 
proper  may  be  put  in  with  the  same  color 
with  a  camel's  hair  pencil,  but  should  not 
be  blended.  This  should  be  done  with  a 
fine  pointed  brush  as  it  should  not  be  promi- 


102  GRAINING 

nent.  The  better  way  to  vein  maple  is  to 
use  a  light  raw  sienna  toned  crayon  pencil 
and  to  draw  them  out  where  desired.  These 
produce  an  even  stroked  vein  much  easier 
to  obtain  by  their  use  than  with  a  brush. 

105.  The  overgraining  of  plain  maple 
is  done  in  oil  and  consists  of  a  few  darkei 
mottles  made  with  a  brush  specially  made 
for  this  purpose,  but  which  in  reality  is  lit- 
tle better  than  a  plain  double  thick  varnish 
flat  brush,  and  the  latter  will  be  found  good 
enough  for  this  purpose.  If  the  color  hap- 
pens to  be  too  thickly  put  on,  it  can  be  wiped 
out  with  a  clean  rag  and  left  only  where  it 
is  desired.  It  should  be  made  of  raw  sienna 
darkened  with  raw  and  burnt  umber  and 
thinned  with  raw  linseed  oil  and  turpentine, 
half  and  half.  It  has  been  supposed  all 
along  that  the  maple  graining  was  done  in 
its  natural  color.  If  gray  maple  is  to  be 
imitated  the  distemper  color  should  be 
made  from  ivory  black  toned  down  with 
whiting  and  the  overgraining  color  from 


CHAINING  103 

ivory  black  thinned  sufficiently  to  produce 
the  tint  wanted. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XIX. 

100.  What  is  said  in  general  of  chestnut 
graining? 

101.  How  should  chestnut  be  grained? 

102.  What  is  said  of  maple  graining  in 
general? 

103.  How  should  gray  maple  ground  be 
prepared? 

104.  How     should     plain     maple     be 
grained? 

105.  How     should     maple     be     over- 
grained? 

LESSON  XX. 

GRAINING   BIED?S   EYE   MAPLE. 

106.  This  is  the  most  elegant  form  of 
wood  known  and  good  specimens  of  the 
wood  are  a  sight  that  well  repay  for  the 
trouble  of  looking  them  up,  as  they  will 
make  a  glad  heart  to  the  man  who  loves 


104  GRAINING 

beautiful  forms.  To  imitate  it  well  by 
graining  requires  some  practice  and  a  good 
knowledge  of  what  is  required  to  produce 
the  innumerable  variations  seen  in  it. 
When  its  growth  is  well  understood  it  is  not 
so  difficult  to  imitate  it.  It  may  as  well  be 
stated  here  at  the  beginning  that  more 
bird's  eye  maple  graining  is  spoiled  by  over- 
doing than  by  not  doing  enough  work 
upon  it.  The  beginner  had  better  confine 
his  efforts  to  but  a  very  few  of  the  "bird's 
eyes'1  at  first.  The  few  will  look  well  and 
modestly  nestled  among  their  surrounding 
mottlings,  but  when  this  is  overdone,  which 
at  the  beginning  especially  is  a  synonim  for 
badly  done— whew !  Better  wash  it  off  and 
try  it  over,  with  less  of  it  next  time,  and  the 
chances  are  that  it  will  bear  looking  at  it. 

107.  The  graining  of  bird's  eye  maple  is 
always  done  in  distemper,  for  the  same  rea- 
sons that  were  given  in  describing  the  grain- 
ing of  plain  maple,  and  for  a  few  additional 
ones  of  its  own  besides,  so  that  all  that  will 


GRAINING  105 

be  said  in  connection  with  it  must  be  under- 
V  stood  as  appertaining  to  distemper  work. 

108.  The  ground  when  the  graining  is 
i  done  in  imitation  of  the  natural  color  of  the 

wood  must  be  of  a  very  light  tone  of  cream 
color,  or  the  finished  work  will  be  too  yel- 
low. If  it  is  to  be  finished  in  imitation  of 
the  gray  stained  variety  the  ground  must 
be  made  to  correspond  to  that  shade  and  a 
faint  pearl-gray  ground  must  be  put  on  as 
noted  in  paragraph  103.  The  ground 
should  not  be  too  glossy,  nor  too  flat,  either, 
for  the  distemper  colors  will  not  work  at 
their  best  on  either  extremes,  but  one  should 
strive  for  an  egg-shell  gloss  as  near  as  pos- 
sible. 

109.  The  graining  proper  proceeds  very 
much  as  was  described  for  the  imitation  of 
plain  maple.    The  same  colors  being  used 
in  either  the  natural  color  imitation  or  the 
gray  tone  with  a  somewhat  different  man- 
ner of  laying  on  the  color  with  the  sponge, 
in  order  to  produce  longer  ridges  of  mot- 


106  GRAINING 

tlings  than  is  usually  necessary  in  plain  ma- 
ple. These  mottlings  must  be  running  in 
one  direction  mainly,  but  in  a  haphazard 
sort  of  way,  and  not  uniformly  as  in  ladder 
rungs.  It  requires  some  experience  and  an 
intimate  knowledge  of  bird's  eye  maple 
growth  to  do  this  preliminary  laying  out  of 
the  work.  It  is  not  difficult,  but  it  must  be 
done  in  the  right  manner  in  order  to  pro- 
duce natural  looking  results. 

110.  The  putting  in  of  the  bird's  eyes  is 
done  in  various  ways— some  ways  being 
better  than  others.  One  of  the  ways  used 
by  many  is  to  use  the  points  of  the  fingers 
upon  the  still  wet  distemper  color  and  to 
peck  it  on  usually  upon  the  apex  of  the 
ridge  of  the  mottles.  It  is  far  from  being 
the  best  way,  but  it  is  the  quickest.  In  the 
natural  wood  the  eyes  are  very  seldom 
found  upon  the  darker  mottles,  but  more 
frequently  upon  secondary  ridges  between 
them,  or  even  upon  the  valleys  laying  be- 
tween them.  As  there  is  not  enough  color 


GRAINING  107 

left  there  to  produce  them  by  pecking  them 
on  with  the  fingers,  the  operators  by  that 
method  have  to  confine  their  work  to  the 
aforesaid  ridges,  where  they  really  do  not 
belong. 

Much  better  and  more  natural  ones  can 
be  put  on  with  a  fine  pointed  artist's  sable 
brush,  and  when  one  has  become  habituated 
to  their  use  they  are  very  quickly  made. 

Again  they  may  be  put  in  with  colored 
pencils  of  a  tone  deep  enough  to  suit  the 
rest  of  the  work.  This  is  more  quickly 
done  than  with  the  sable  brush,  but  the 
strokes  cannot  be  varied  as  with  that,  and 
the  more  artistic  graining  requires  their 
use.  There  are  a  number  of  other  more  or 
less  mechanical  processes  used  in  producing 
the  bird's  eyes,  but  none  surpass  the  one's 
described. 

The  veining  is  done  with  colored  pencils 
as  related  in  paragraph  104  and  over- 
grained  as  described  in  paragraph  105. 

In  all  cases  where  graining  is  done  in  dis- 


108  GRAINING 

temper  it  is  to  be  understood  that  the  grain- 
ing is  to  be  varnished  or  receive  a  protect- 
ing coat  of  some  kind  or  another,  and  as 
this  is  required  in  all  cases  of  distemper 
graining  it  will  not  be  repeated  hereafter. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XX. 

106.  What  is  said  regarding  the  grain- 
ing of  bird's  eye  maple? 

107.  In  what  medium  is  bird's  eye  ma- 
ple usually  grained  ? 

108.  How  are  the  grounds  to  be  pre- 
pared? 

109.  How  would  you  proceed  to  put  on 
the  mottling  lay  out? 

110.  How  are  the  bird's  eyes  put  on? 

LESSON  XXI. 

GRAINING  SYCAMORE,  CHERRY  AND  SATINWOOD. 

111.  Sycamore  is  another  wood  which, 
like   maple,    shows  but   little   pores.    Its 
growth,  unlike  maple,  is  an  indescribable 
interlacing  and  twining  of  its  ligaments 


GRAINING  109 

which  when  sawed  produce  an  infinity  of 
variations  with  short,  jerky,  snappish  term- 
inations, and  an  infinity  of  short  mottlings. 
This  very  infinity  at  last  produces  a  uni- 
formity on  account  of  their  smallness,  as 
the  eye  cannot  catch  all  their  variations. 
Were  it  possible  to  greatly  increase  these 
of  such  a  size  as  those  of  maple,  sycamore 
would  be  one  of  the  richest  of  our  woods. 

112.  It  is  passably  well  imitated  in  dis- 
temper work  and  grained  quickly.  The 
ground  should  be  deeper  than  that  of  any 
of  the  woods  previously  described,  of  a  de- 
cided buff  tone.  The  graining  color  should 
be  made  from  raw  sienna  and  burnt  umber 
in  distemper.  The  graining  should  be  done 
with  the  sponge  and  immediately  well 
blended.  If  the  sponge  is  pecked  on  to  the 
surface  to  be  grained,  the  blending  will  pro- 
duce the  small  mottles,  and  another  pecking 
done  in  such  places  as  needed  and  blended 
will  usually  produce  a  very  fair  representa- 
tion of  the  wood.  Another  way  is  to  put 


110  GRAINING 

on  the  color  evenly  with  either  a  sponge  or 
a  brush  and  to  rotate  the  rotary  cylinder 
rubber  roller  graining  tool  upon  it  and 
blend  quickly.  This  gives  a  very  fair  imi- 
tation if  well  done. 

CHERRY. 

113.  Cherry  graining  presents  no  great 
difficulty,  as  it  is  a  wood  of  very  plain 
growth,  so  much  so  that  it  looks  rather  tame 
and  for  that  reason  it  is  very  seldom  imi- 
tated by  graining.    There  are  some  of  the 
rooms  in  the  old-time  houses  where  the 
woodwork  is  cherry,  and  it  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  repairs  are  done  to  it,  and  which 
have  to  be  grained  in  order  to  match  the 
old  work. 

114.  The  ground  color  is  made  by  tint- 
ing white  lead  with  ochre,  Venetian  red  and 
burnt  umber.    A  very  fine  stipple  of  burnt 
umber  much  reduced  with  whiting  may  be 
given  it  and  the  veining  should  be  put  in 
with  a  pencil  of  the  proper  color,  which 


GRAINING  111 

should  in  no  wise  be  very  prominent  as  in 
the  natural  wood  it  does  not  show  mucti 
darker  than  the  fine  pores  or  stipple  work. 
Of  course  all  of  the  work  is  done  in  water 
colors. 

SATINWOOD. 

115.  Satinwood,  with  the  one  exception 
of  holly,  is  one  of  the  easiest  of  all  woods 
to  imitate.    There  is  but  few  markings 
upon  it  and  next  to  nothing  in  veining. 
Mottlings  of  no  great  prominence  by  their 
depths  of  coloring  are  the  only  markings. 
The  wood  varies  somewhat  in  the  depth  of 
its  tone  from  a  light  to  a  medium  tone  of 
buff. 

116.  The  ground  will  vary  from  a  very 
light  buff  to  a  darker  shade  of  the  same. 
As  said  before  the  graining  consists  of  mot- 
tlings  which  are  not  very  prominent,  there- 
fore the  graining  color,  which  is  made  up 
from  raw  sienna  and  burnt  umber  in  dis- 
temper reduced  to  less  intensity  by  whit- 


112  GRAINING 

ing,  should  be  put  on  thinly  with  a  sponge 
and  blended  so  as  to  show  no  feathering. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXL 

111.  Kelate  what  are  the  main  charac- 
teristics of  sycamore? 

112.  How  is  sycamore  grained? 

113.  What  is  said  of  cherry  graining? 

114.  How  is  cherry  grained? 

115.  What  is  said  regarding  the  charac- 
teristics of  satinwood. 

116.  How  is  satinwood  grained? 

LESSON  XXII. 

GRAINING  OF  LIGHT  AND  DARK  MAHOGANY. 

117.  Mahogany  is  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tifully formed  woods  that  nature  produces. 
In  its  plain  form  or  in  its  most  intricate 
featherings,  it  is  always  pleasing  to  look 
at  and  its  most  profuse  variations  of  form 
do  not  cause  any  nausea  nor  does  one  be- 
come confused  or  tired  of  them.   It  is  found 
in  many  variations  of  color.    New  mahog- 


GRAINING  113 

any  is  very  light  toned  and  seldom  darker 
than  a  medium  buff  tone.  It  acquires  a 
reddish  tone  by  age,  which  becomes  a  rich 
dark  red  in  time.  This  redness  is  usually 
artificially  supplied  in  the  natural  wood  by 
staining.  In  graining  it  is  the  most  usual 
to  reproduce  the  rich  red  darker  variety, 
and  that  of  the  light  varieties  is  only  re- 
sorted to  in  order  to  match  some  parts 
added  to  a  room  which  has  been  finished  in 
the  light  natural  wood. 

118.  The  ground  for  light  mahogany 
should  be  a  buff  more  or  less  dark,  accord- 
ing to  the  character  of  the  finish  wanted. 
A  medium  oak  ground  made  by, the  addi- 
tion of  ochre  to  white  lead  is  the  most  usual 
for  light  mahogany.  For  the  darker  ma- 
hogany imitations  the  ground  should  be 
rather  reddish  and  much  darker  in  tone. 
To  the  white  lead  base  should  be  added  yel- 
low ochre  and  Venetian  red.  For  some 
specimens  a  trifle  of  burnt  umber  should 


114  GRAINING 

be  added  in  order  to  darken  it,  but  never 
sufficiently  to  kill  the  red  yellow  tone. 

119.  The  graining  color  for  light  ma- 
hogany is  prepared  by  mixing  raw  sienna 
and  burnt  umber  in  distemper;  that  used 
for  graining  dark  mahogany  is  made  from 
burnt  sienna  and  burnt  umber,  the  manner 
of  doing  the  graining  in  either  coloring  be- 
ing the  same.  Mahogany  seldom  shows 
any  regular  veining,  but  soft  tones  of  mot- 
tlings,  rather  coarse  and  lengthy,  but  these 
usually  are  not  numerous  in  what  is  known 
as  plain  mahogany.  The  whole  character 
can  be  put  on  in  one  operation  and  with 
the  sponge,  which  by  the  proper  pressure 
will  make  out  the  broad  veinings,  which 
when  blended  out  to  bring  out  the  feather- 
ing usually  suffice  to  give  the  right  charac- 
ter to  the  wood.  The  proper  use  of  the 
sponge  should  be  practiced  in  order  to 
make  the  color  lay  strong  in  parts  where  it 
is  wanted  dark,  and  to  wipe  it  out  thin 


GRAINING  115 

where  but  little  coloring  is  desired  to  show 
over  the  ground. 

In  some  specimens  of  plain  mahogany 
many  fine  pores  appear,  and  it  may  he  well 
to  flog  a  few  of  the  lines  made  by  the  sponge 
lightly  before  blending.  This  must  be 
quickly  done,  as  otherwise  it  would  become 
too  dry  for  blending.  There  will  be  enough 
porousness  show  after  the  blending  to  make 
a  more  natural  appearance  than  if  the  stip- 
pling had  not  been  resorted  to. 

120.  Crotch  and  feathered  mahogany 
should  be  well  studied  out  in  order  to  re- 
produce it  rightly.  It  is  not  very  difficult 
to  do  the  work,  but  as  said  before  the  oper- 
ator must  have  a  good  idea  of  what  he  is 
going  to  do  and  should  have  the  space  to 
be  grained  all  pictured  out  in  his  mind's 
eye.  The  feathering  is  brought  out  by  the 
proper  use  of  the  sponge  and  the  blending 
of  it  properly  afterward  has  much  to  do  in 
the  making  it  look  natural,  for  if  it  is  not 
done  right  it  will  make  an  otherwise  good 


116  GRAINING 

piece  of  work  look  ridiculous.  In  the  nat- 
ural wood  these  fine  markings  are  very 
scarce,  and  never  seen  outside  of  veneers 
and  are  costly,  therefore  hardly  ever  seen 
except  upon  high  priced  furniture,  but  in 
the  grained  imitation  the  operator  can  in- 
dulge his  wildest  fancies  in  reproducing  the 
choicest  specimens  of  the  wood  at  a  small 
outlay. 

121.  In  the  crotch  mahogany  veneers 
one  will  frequently  notice  a  fine  set  of  veins 
which  cross  the  mottlings  or  featherings  in 
an  opposite  direction.  They  are  not  nearly 
as  prominent  as  these,  but  seem  to  be  a  suc- 
cession of  fine  paint  lines.  These  when  put 
in  as  they  should  be  help  out  the  graining 
very  much,  and  the  putting  of  these  in  is 
the  chief  object  of  overgraining.  The  col- 
oring should  be  the  same  as  that  used  for 
the  graining,  only  thinned  a  trifle  more  and 
sometimes  just  darkened  a  bit  more  by  the 
addition  of  a  little  ivory  black  in  distemper. 
The  fine  lines  are  put  in  with  the  fan  over- 


GRAINING  117 

graining  brushes  from  which  the  hair  has 
been  well  thinned  out,  so  they  will  separate 
by  running  through  a  comb  into  a  number 
of  parallel  fine  lines. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXII. 

117.  What  is  said  regarding  the  grain- 
ing of  mahogany? 

118.  How  are  the  grounds  of  light  and 
dark  mahogany  prepared? 

119.  How  should  plain  mahogany  be 
grained? 

120.  How  is  crotched  and  fancy  feath- 
ered mahogany  to  be  grained? 

121.  How  is  mahogany  overgrained? 

LESSON  xxm. 

GRAINING  WALNUT. 

122.  rAt  one  time  when  graining  was  at 
its  height,  walnut  graining  was  next  to  oak, 
the  main  wood  which  grainers  had  to  imi- 
tate, and  some  of  them  attained  to  such 
skill  as  entitled  their  work  to  be  called 


118  GBMNING 

art.  It  is  not  used  just  now  to  near  the 
same  extent  that  it  used  to  be,  but  as  the 
prevailing  sorts  of  woods  that  are  grained 
are  subject  to  changes  caused  by  fashion, 
there  is  no  telling  how  soon  walnut  grain- 
ing may  take  the  lead  among  the  dark  wood 
imitations.  The  color  of  the  various  speci- 
mens of  walnut  vary  greatly.  The  genera! 
tone  of  American  black  walnut  is  darker 
than  that  of  the  European  species  various- 
ly known  as  English,  Italian,  etc.,  they  all 
being  the  same.  But  aside  of  the  fact  that 
American  black  walnut  is  darker,  the  de- 
gree of  darkness  varies  considerably  in  va- 
rious specimens.  Walnut,  especially  black 
walnut,  is  a  rather  coarse,  open-pored  wood, 
with  a  heart  growth  which  is  well  defined 
and  of  pleasing  forms.  The  veneers  which 
are  sawed  from  walnut  roots  and  forks  of 
limbs,  as  in  the  crotch  walnut,  are  very  in- 
tricate and  beautiful  when  all  the  details 
are  well  brought  out  by  polishing. 

123.    The  ground  for  walnut  graining, 


GRAINING  119 

as  may  be  well  supposed,  will  vary  greatly, 
according  to  the  desired  finish.  The  aver- 
age European  walnut  ground  is  made  from 
ochre,  burnt  umber  and  a  trifle  of  Venetian 
red  added  to  a  white  lead  base,  and  will  be 
deeper  or  lighter  according  to  the  finish  de- 
sired. It  will  be  more  yellow  in  tone  than 
the  ground  that  is  used  for  the  darker 
American  species.  For  the  latter  the  same 
colors  are  used  in  preparing  the  ground, 
only  that  it  is  made  deeper  on  the  average, 
and  that  it  should  not  be  quite  as  yellow 
toned  as  the  ground  used  for  the  European 
variety. 

124.  The  openness  of  the  wood  repre- 
sented by  the  pores  is  easily  reproduced  by 
the  stippling  it  should  receive  before  the 
heart  growth  is  either  wiped  out  in  oil 
graining  or  pencilled  on  in  distemper. 
Some  grainers  dispense  with  it  in  oil  work, 
but  the  finished  work  suffers  from  it.  The 
stippling  color  is  best  made  from  some  good 
Vandyke  brown,  and  it  may  also  be  made 


120  GRAINING 

from  burnt  umber  in  distemper.  It  should 
be  flogged  on  evenly  and  rather  coarse,  as 
it  will  not  look  good  if  flogged  too  fine. 

125.  After  the  stippling  the  graining 
may  be  done  in  oil  by  wiping  out.  The 
color  used  for  graining  may  be  either  Van- 
dyke brown,  which  has  been  made  more  dry- 
ing by  the  addition  of  an  extra  quantity  of 
good  drying  Japan,  or  from  burnt  umber, 
to  either  of  which  enough  megilp  has  been 
added  to  keep  them  from  running  when  suf- 
ficiently thinned  out  for  wiping. 

The  easiest  way  of  graining  plain  growth 
walnut  of  either  the  European  or  American 
varieties  is  in  distemper,  and  while  it  may 
not  be  as  good  in  the  estimation  of  some,  it 
is  much  more  quickly  performed,  and  when 
well  done  will  look  fairly  good  and  natural. 
For  the  graining  of  it  in  distemper  the  same 
colors  should  be  used  in  that  medium  as 
noted  for  oil  work,  and  the  veining  pencilled 
on  the  stippled  surface  and  well  blended 
out  while  still  wet. 


GRAINING  121 

126.  The  overgraining  of  plain  walnut 
graining  will  add  much  to  its  naturalness 
of  looks.  This  consists  mainly  of  the  dark- 
ening of  some  of  the  parts.  It  should  be 
done  with  the  oil  color  used  in  graining  it 
in  oil  for  either  oil  or  distemper  work.  In 
the  latter  case  the  color  should  be  suffi- 
ciently thinned  and  well  rubbed  out  as  to 
give  it  a  coat  all  over  and  afterward  it 
should  be  wiped  out  from  all  parts  where  it 
is  not  wanted  with  soft  cotton  rags. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXIII. 

122.  What  are  the  principal  character- 
istics of  walnut  ? 

123.  How  are  the  grounds  for  European 
and  American  black  walnut  prepared? 

124.  How  should  walnut  be  stippled! 

125.  How  is  walnut  grained  in  oil  and 
distemper? 

126.  How  is  walnut  overgrained? 


122  GRAINING 

LESSON  XXIV. 
GRAINING  WALNUT— CONTINUED;  BURLED 

WALNUT. 

127.  The  natural  plain  growth  of  walnut 
usually  presents  no  riotousness  and  is 
rather  staid  and  well  behaved,  but  with  a 
sufficiency  in  variation  to  suit  the  most  fas- 
tiduous.  Not  so  with  burled  walnut  or  root 
walnut  of  either  the  European  or  the 
American  varieties.  One  would  hardly 
recognize  them  as  relations  of  the  former 
but  by  that  they  carry  some  of  the  colors 
of  the  plain,  besides  many  shades  more  and 
variations  of  them  of  their  own.  The  Euro- 
pean varieties  are  usually  lighter  toned 
than  the  American  sort,  and  the  contorted 
course  of  the  veining  is  somewhat  more 
regular  in  appearance,  otherwise  the  burl- 
ing and  knots  are  very  much  the  same.  The 
same  design  executed  in  either  European  or 
American  walnut  would  look  well  if  prop- 
erly done.  There  is  considerable  system  in 
the  seemingly  wild  growth  of  walnut  burls. 


GRAINING  123 

Their  representation  requires  considerable 
study  in  order  to  represent  them  naturally, 
not  that  it  is  very  hard  to  do,  but  in  order 
rather  that  it  be  not  overdone.  There  is 
nothing  that  has  a  more  vulgar  look  than 
an  overdone  imitation  of  burled  walnut. 

128.  The  student  should  familiarize  him- 
self with  the  growth  of  many  specimens  and 
besides  he  should  carry  an  imprint  in  his 
mind  of  all  the  various  natural  specimens 
he  may  come  across.  In  these  studies  he 
will  no  doubt  have  noted  that  the  ground 
color  or  the  lighter  parts  in  the  natural 
wood  does  not  run  uniform  as  in  the  plain 
wood.  Some  parts  will  require  a  much 
lighter  ground  than  others,  and  good  grain- 
ers  take  advantage  of  that  knowledge  and 
prepare  the  grounds  in  various  shades  in 
order  to  produce  the  effects  desired.  Some 
try  to  obtain  these  by  overgraining,  but 
while  that  improves  the  graining  it  will  not 
produce  the  realistic  effects  possible  by  the 
varied  colored  grounds.  This  demands 


124  GRAINING 

good  judgment  and  a  full  knowledge  of  the 
intended  work  so  that  a  boy  cannot  be  sent 
ahead  to  do  the  grounding,  but  the  grainer 
himself  must  do  it  according  to  his  own  con- 
ception of  the  intended  work. 

129.  The  graining  is  always  done  in  dis- 
temper. The  colors  used  are  raw  and  burnt 
sienna,  raw  and  burnt  umber  and  ivory 
black.  To  these  may  be  added  Vandyke 
brown.  The  lay  out  is  first  laid  out  with  a 
sponge.  A  different  sponge  should  be  used 
in  each  color.  After  all  the  principal  feat- 
ures have  been  put  on  and  blended  prop- 
erly, the  work  proper  of  putting  in  the  de- 
tails commences  and  is  done  with  camel's 
hair  pencils,  fan  overgrainers,  etc.  It  is 
presumed  that  the  student  has  practiced 
these  before,  as  he  will  hardly  care  to  ex- 
pose his  ignorance  upon  a  door  panel  where 
it  would  be  very  likely  to  put  him  to  shame. 
Nothing  but  practice  makes  one  perfect  at 
this  work.  Yet  many  who  have  practiced 
it  for  years  fail  to  do  as  good  work  some- 


CHAINING  125 

times  as  a  novice  would,  because  they  have 
a  false  conception  of  it  and  keep  on  in  the 
old  rut,  which  was  wrong  from  the  begin- 
ning. It  is  not  difficult  of  execution,  but 
cannot  be  done  right  in  a  haphazard  man- 
ner any  more  than  by  making  lines  and 
curves  and  expect  to  produce  a  good  sign 
if  not  put  in  their  proper  places. 

130.  As  hinted  in  paragraph  28,  some 
grainers  expect  to  do  too  much  with  the 
overgraining.  They  try  to  correct  a  faulty 
ground  work  and  to  put  in  many  details 
which  properly  belong  to  the  graining 
proper.  It  is  possible,  of  course,  to  help 
•very  much  in  the  correction  of  many  faults, 
especially  in  those  of  bettering  the  mot- 
tlings,  but  if  the  graining  has  not  been  laid 
out  nor  grained  pretty  near  right,  no 
amount  of  overgraining  will  make  it  right, 
and  more  work  that  would  have  been  pass- 
able is  rendered  worthless  by  overdone 
overgraining  than  from  any  other  one 
cause. 


126  GRAINING 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXIV. 

127.  What  is  said  of  burled  and  root 
walnut  graining? 

128.  How  should  the  grounds  be  pre- 
pared for  it? 

129.  How  is  burled  walnut  grained? 

130.  How  is  burled  walnut  overgrained  ? 

LESSON  XXV. 

GRAINING    ROSEWOOD,   ETC. 

131.  Eosewood  has  never  been  very  ex- 
tensively used  in  interior  finishing.    Its 
dark,  somber  tone  unfits  it  for  most  situa- 
tions and  its  great  cost  unfits  most  people 
from  even  thinking  about  its  usage.   There- 
fore, while  the  last  reason  has  not  been  a 
factor  in  discouraging  its  graining,  the  first 
one  given  has  sufficied  to  confine  its  use  to 
that  of  a  few  fancy  articles  of  bric-a-brac 
or  fancy  pieces  of  furniture,  and  in  the  lat- 
ter it  has  been  mainly  in  the  stained  form 
that  it  is  seen.    As,  however,  it  sometimes 
happens  that  a  grainer  is  called  upon  to 


GRAINING  127 

produce ^it  upon  a  fancy  box  or  something 
else,  he  should  know  how  to  do  it. 

132.  The  ground  for  rosewood  should 
be  compounded  from  Venetian  red  bright- 
ened up  with  vermillion  and  lightened  with 
white  lead,  but  not  too  much.    It  should 
be  of  a  decided  red,  and  while  but  little  of 
it  usually  shows  through  the  dark  super- 
structure of  veins,  and  that  little  in  the 
natural  wood  is  always  of  a  decided  red 
tone,  some  grainers  add  ochre  to  the  red, 
but  that  only  serves  to  muddy  up  the  red 
tone  and  should  never  be  resorted  to. 

133.  The  main  character  of  the  wood 
should  be  put  on  with  a  sponge  with  dis- 
temper color  consisting  chiefly  of  ivory 
black,  to  which  a  trifle  of  umber  may  be 
added,  but  which  is  not  necessary  really. 
The  main  character  of  the  wood  is  laid  out 
in  long,  wide  stripes,  which  should  consist 
chiefly  of  a  number  of  fine  lines  or  veinings. 
The  first  laying  out  should  be  put  on  rather 
thin  and  allowed  to  dry,  when  the  fine  line 


128  GRAINING 

work  can  be  put  on  with  the  fan  overgrain- 
er,  and  the  parts  of  the  ground  which  have 
not  been  covered  with  the  first  wide  stripe 
lay  out  mentioned  should  be  gone  over  with 
the  fan  brush  and  a  number  of  fine  lines 
made  running  into  the  dark  straight  ones. 
It  is  between  these  that  a  little  of  the 
ground  will  show  here  and  there  only.  The 
character  of  the  wood  should  be  well  under- 
stood in  order  to  make  a  fair  imitation,  and 
no  one  will  attain  that  by  being  told  ' '  how 
it  looks,"  for  that  is  impossible,  rosewood 
being  so  unlike  any  other  wood. 

There  is  usually  no  overgraining  neces- 
sary if  the  work  has  been  properly  done. 
Nor  should  the  fine  line  work  done  with  the 
fan  overgrainer  be  blended,  as  the  veining 
stands  out  sharp.  As  sometimes  the  be- 
ginner will  be  apt  to  have  it  show  too  much 
of  the  red  ground,  it  may  be  well  to  give  a 
glazing  coat  of  ivory  black  in  oil  over  the 
whole  surface  and  to  wipe  up  a  few  of  the 
parts  where  the  red  ground  is  desired  to 


GRAINING  129 

show  through.  This  will  act  as  a  protec- 
tion to  the  work,  too,  and  when  dry  a  coat 
of  varnish  can  be  given  it  which  will  usually 
suffice  then. 

134.  Many  more  woods  could  be  given, 
but  of  all  the  rest  yellow  pine  is  the  only 
one  which  is  ever  likely  to  be  imitated,  and 
very  little  of  that  excepting  in  the  match- 
ing of  some  repair  work.  There  is  no  rea- 
son for  giving  it  a  special  description,  as 
that  given  in  paragraphs  94  to  99,  and  espe- 
cially in  99,  will  come  as  near  to  it  as  it 
would  be  possible  to  make  it. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXV. 

131.  "What  are  the  principal  character- 
istics of  rosewood? 

132.  How  are  the  grounds  for  rosewood 
to  be  prepared? 

133.  How  is  rosewood  grained? 

134.  What  else  is  said  regarding  the 
graining  of  yellow  pine  and  other  woods. 


130  GRAINING 

LESSON  XXVI. 

MARBLING. 

135.  The  imitation  of  marbles  and  other 
stones  of  a  variegated  character  is  much 
older  than  that  of  the  imitation  of  woods  by 
graining.    This  is  no  doubt  due  to  the  uni- 
versal custom  of  public  buildings  in  the 
Roman  Empire  being  finished  in  stonework, 
marbles,   jaspers,   onyx  and  other  varie- 
gated  stones.    The  patricians  vied   with 
each  other  in  the  lavish  decoration  of  their 
palaces,  which  were,  of  course,  the  real 
thing,  but  many  of  the  merchants  and  ple- 
beians who  could  not  afford  these  expensive 
finishes,  had  recourse  to  an  artificial  repre- 
sentation of  them,  in  their  principal  cham- 
bers at  least.    The  marble  imitations  found 
so  far  do  not  speak  very  highly  for  the  skill 
of  the  marblers  of  that  period,  and  it  must 
take  a  rank  far  below  that  of  other  mural 
decorations  done  at  the  same  time  presum- 
ably by  a  higher  grade  of  artists. 

136.  The  enormous  use  of  marble  and 


GRAINING  131 

onyx  in  various  decoration  in  this  country, 
which  has  been  developed  within  the  latter 
part  of  the  past  fifty  years,  has  been  edu- 
cating the  people  to  the  use  of  something 
better  than  the  miserable  paper  imitations 
which  have  paraded  as  marble,  or  rather 
been  a  parody  upon  it.  Such  as  these  paper 
imitations  have  been,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
people  of  taste  have  tabooed  them  from 
their  homes,  pref  ering  a  plain  wall  or  wash- 
able varnished  tile  paper  to  those  ludicrous 
misrepresentations. 

137.  For  many  purposes  marble  imita- 
tions are  beginning  to  be  used  much  more 
extensively  than  they  were  and  good  imita- 
tions always  captivate  the  attention  of  peo- 
ple of  taste,  with  the  consequence  that  when 
once  introduced  in  a  neighborhood  it  soon 
happens  that  the  man  who  is  able  to  do  a 
good  job  is  soon  overrun  with  that  kind  of 
work.  That  it  has  not  become  general  is 
because,  sad  to  say,  it  has  almost  become  a 
lost  art  from  long  disuse.  The  many 


132  GRAINING 

cheaper  halls,  restaurants,  etc.,  in  public 
and  semi-public  buildings  where  the  real 
stone  is  too  expensive;  the  many  private 
vestibules,  halls  and  bathrooms,  where  their 
use  is  almost  imperatively  demanded  by 
good  taste  as  the  only  permissible  embel- 
lishment to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the 
walls,  by  at  least  a  dado  imitation  of  good 
marble  done  in  oil  and  washable.  An  end- 
less variation  in  variously  formed  panels 
and  cornices  and  surrounding  stiles,  where 
contrasting  colored  varieties  of  marbles  and 
onyxes  can  be  used,  or  their  use  in  plain 
slabs  as  desired,  will  enable  the  artist  who 
does  the  marbling  to  produce  an  individual- 
ity of  work  on  every  job.  The  good  mar- 
bier  is  entitled  to  be  called  an  artist,  for  it 
is  only  an  artist  who  can  vary  this  infinity 
of  forms  properly.  Not  that  the  execution 
of  the  work  demands  great  ability  in  repro- 
ducing it— the  artist's  skill  is  developed  and 
shown  in  the  proper  arrangement  and  use 
of  coloring,  and  also  in  the  proper  tracing 


GRAINING  133 

out  of  the  work  itself,  but  that  without  the 
other  will  surely  disappoint. 

138.  Many  marbles  resemble  each  other 
very  closely  excepting  in  their  coloring, 
and  even  in  marbles  of  the  same  quarry 
there  will  be  found  such  variations  in  the 
forms  of  their  veinings,  agglomerations  in 
those  of  conglomerate  form  that  really  no 
well  defined  description  can  be  given  of  any 
of  them.    The  general  characteristics  is  all 
that  can  be  said  of  any  of  them  and  some 
general  directions  given  under  each  which 
will  help  the  student  to  do  his  work  upon 
right  lines. 

139.  Marbles  may  be  divided  up  into 
two  great  divisions,  and  even  these  are 
somewhat  interchangeable,  and  it  will  de- 
pend upon  the  angle  that  the  slabs  have 
been  sawed  as  to  whether  they  should  be 
placed  in  one  or  the  other  division.    These 
two   divisions   are   the   striated  marbles, 
which  includes  the  veined  and  serpentine 
marbles,  and  the  conglomerate,  which  in- 


134  GRAINING 

eludes  most  of  the  onyxes  and  marbles 
which  show  but  little  veining.  As  stated 
before  this  arbitrary  division  is  sometimes 
misleading,  as  a  striated  marble  will  show 
up  in  chunky  formation  if  sawed  in  a  cer- 
tain way,  and  again  considerable  veining 
will  show  in  a  conglomerate  if  sawed  at  the 
right  angle.  The  placing  them  in  one  or 
the  other  of  the  two  divisions  applies  only 
when  they  are  sawed  in  the  natural  and 
customary  way— squarely  through  the 
block  where  they  show  their  character  more 
fully.  In  some  varieties,  however,  as  in 
some  of  the  onyxes,  there  is  little  regularity 
of  formation  and  serpentine  forms  will  be 
found  bordered  with  large  chunks  of  con- 
glomerates, and  the  latter  with  more  or  less 
of  well  defined  serpentine  formation  inter- 
mingled with  it.  This  really  is  what  makes 
the  chief  beauty  of  the  onyxes.  The  stu- 
dents should  study  the  forms  taken  by  mar- 
bles thoroughly  as  possible  in  order  to  store 
up  in  their  memory  the  innumerable  varia- 


GRAINING  135 

tions  of  forms  of  all  the  several  sorts  of 
marbles  which  they  come  across. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXVI. 

135.  What  is  said  relative  to  the  imita- 
tion of  marbles  by  ancient  civilizations? 

136.  What  uses  of  marble  imitations  are 
made  of  today? 

137.  To  what  parts  of  interior  decora- 
tion are  they  best  adapted  to? 

138.  What  is  said  of  the  irregularity  of 
form  in  marbles  ? 

139.  In  how  many  divisions  can  marbles 
be  placed  in? 

LESSON  XXVII. 

GENERAL.  DIRECTIONS  FOR  MARBLING. 

140.  Under  the  name  of  marble  are  in- 
cluded all  variegated  stones,  and  therefore 
the  term  "marbling,"  like  that  of  "gild- 
ing," which  is  applied  to  gold,  silver  and  all 
metal  leaves  means  considerably  more  than 
it    should.    Truthfully    speaking  marbles 


136  GRAINING 

are  of  lime  formation,  while  granites  and 
jaspers  and  many  others  are  not.  The  col- 
oring of  the  veinings  are  due  to  various 
causes ;  various  substances  being  deposited 
and  enveloped  in  the  lime  formation,  some 
by  infiltration  of  metallic  ore  beds  above 
the  lime  formation,  which  found  their  way 
through  some,  of  the  softer  fissures  of  the 
imperfectly  formed  limestone  and  depos- 
ited there.  Again,  as  in  honeycomb  lime- 
stone, substances  which  deposited  along 
with  the  lime,  but  which  being  more  soluble 
have  been  washed  out  of  it,  leaving  the  lime 
full  of  small  holes,  as  the  name  indicates. 
These  being  subsequently  filled  up  with  col- 
ored deposits. 

141.  General  directions  will  be  given  in 
this  and  subsequent  lessons  as  to  "how" 
the  various  operations  used  for  imitating 
marbles  are  performed,  and  the  student  will 
be  referred  to  them  when  the  special  de- 
scription of  the  various  well-known  marbles 
and  other  stones  are  given.  The  same  op- 


GRAINING  137 

erations  being  used  in  nearly  all  of  them, 
being  varied  to  suit  the  peculiar  needs  of 
each  as  required. 

142.  There  is  no  need  of  special  brushes 
or  tools  for  any  of  the  operations  about  to 
be  described,  and  the  ones  described  as  use- 
ful for  the  imitation  of  wood  by  graining 
will  more  than  suffice  as  but  few  brushes 
are  needed.    For  laying  the  grounds,  some 
of  the  larger  flat  ones  and  some  smaller 
flat  ones  to  lay  in  colors  in  smaller  groups, 
and  dry  ones  to  blend  them.    Some  fitches 
or  small  bristle  artists'  brushes  and  some 
camel's  hair  pencils  with  a  few  wing  and 
tail  feathers  for  putting  in  some  of  the  finer 
veins,  and  badger  blenders  are  about  all  the 
tools  needed. 

143.  'As  to  material,  white  lead  and  zinc 
white  will  form  the  bulk  of  it,  as  it  is  used 
either  as  a  base  or  by  itself  in  all  the  mar- 
bles that  will  be  described,  with,  of  course, 
the  exception  of  the  black  marbles.    As 
there  are  so  many  colors  used  in  imitating 


138  CHAINING 

marbles,  the  whole  list  may  be  of  use  at 
some  time  or  other,  and  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  name  them  all  over  at  this  time,  as 
under  each  marble  will  be  given  the  ones 
needed.  Light  varnishes  are  required  in 
order  to  give  the  finished  marble  a  uniform 
appearance  and  as  a  protection.  This  is 
the  hardest  part  of  all  to  procure,  as  the 
stronger  ones  are  not  fit  to  use  over  white 
or  even  upon  some  of  the  darker  ones  hav- 
ing white  veins,  turning  them  yellowish. 
Damar  varnish  is  forced  upon  the  marbler, 
so  there  is  little  wonder  if  many  prefer  to 
leave  the  work  as  it  is  without  varnishing. 

All  the  above  applies  to  oil  color  mar- 
bling only  as  work  done  in  distemper  is 
never  varnished.  The  colors  needed  in  wa- 
ter color  marbling  are  the  same  as  for  oil 
work,  only  they  must  of  course  be  in  the  dry 
state. 

144.  The  walls  of  halls  are  sometimes 
done  in  imitation  of  marble  slabs,  and  one 
is  then  required  to  scaffold  for  it  in  order  to 


GRAINING  139 

reach  them.  As  directions  were  given  how 
to  reach  the  walls  and  ceilings  in  Vol.  II,  or 
"  Interior  Painting, "  the  student  is  referred 
to  that  for  fuller  details.  For  most  work 
good  step  ladders  will  be  found  best,  as  they 
permit  the  work  to  be  done  with  more  com- 
fort, the  operator  climbing  up  or  down  as 
needed  without  having  to  reach  up  or  bend 
down  too  much. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXVII. 

140.  What  is  said  regarding  marble  for- 
mation? 

141.  What  of  the  general  operation  used 
in  imitating  marbles  ? 

142.  What  are  the  tools  needed  in  mar- 
bling f 

143.  What  material  is  used  in  marbling? 

144.  What    appliances    are   needed   in 
wall  work  in  order  to  reach  their  surfaces  ? 


140  GRAINING 

LESSON  XXVIII. 

THE  OPERATIONS  OF  MARBLING. 

145.  The  laying  on  of  the  proper  colors 
for  the  ground  is  the  first  operation  in  the 
order  in  which  they  occur  in  marbling,  and 
it  is  a  very  important  one,  too.  It  will 
be  well  to  state  here  that  the  descriptions 
which  are  given  is  for  marbling  in  oil,  as 
that  is  by  far  the  best  way  of  imitating 
marble,  therefore  the  proper  allowance 
must  be  made  for  water  color  work  of  quick- 
er drying,  and  therefore  it  will  require  con- 
siderable speed  in  conducting  the  marbling 
operations,  giving  the  operator  but  little 
time  to  do  his  work  in  he  cannot  possibly 
produce  as  good  work  as  he  can  in  oil.  Only 
rather  plain  figured  marbles  should  be  at- 
temped  by  the  students  in  distemper 
work.  The  ground  is  usually  put  on  all 
over  alike  in  oil,  and  usually  it  is  put  on 
with  white  lead.  While  that  is  fresh,  if  a 
parti-colored  ground  is  desired,  a  little  of 


GRAINING  141 

the  proper  color  is  worked  over  it  and 
blended  more  or  less  to  suit. 

146.  If  the  imitation  is  striated,  veined 
or  serpentine  marble,  while  the  ground  is 
still  wet  the  main  body  of  color  and  vein- 
ing  should  be  put  in  and  blended.    The 
blending  in  marbling  constitutes  a  most  im- 
portant part,  as  by  means  of  it  veins  and 
lines  are  made  to  disappear  as  it  were  into 
the  ground  gradually,  which  gives  it  trans- 
parency, and  it  will  look  as  if  it  came  from 
the  interior  and  gradually  becoming  strong- 
er toned  as  it  reached  the  surface.    These 
effects  are  all  produced  by  proper  blending. 

If  the  imitation  is  a  conglomerate  marble 
the  chunks  should  be  put  on  with  dabs  of 
color  suitable  and  of  the  right  size,  depend- 
ing upon  the  blender  to  soften  them  into  a 
gradual  disappearance  into  the  ground. 

147.  While  the  ground  is  still  wet  in 
veined  or  striated  marble  the  deeper  toned 
veins,  or  rather  that  portion  of  the  veins 
which  it  is  desired  should  appear  as  hav- 


142  GRAINING 

ing  reached  the  surface  by  a  gradual  ascent 
from  below,  should  be  touched  with  a  little 
of  the  fresh  color  and  left  unblended.  This 
is  done  with  camel's  hair  pointed  pencils  or 
with  the  tip  end  of  feathers  for  some  of  the 
finer  lined  ones. 

In  the  conglomerate  imitation  the  chunks 
can  be  touched  with  fresh  color  left  un- 
blended at  what  is  desired  should  show  as 
their  surface  point,  so  that  the  chunks  will 
show  as  if  they  were  gradually  sinking  away 
from  sight  to  the  interior  of  the  stone. 

148.  It  will  be  best  after  having  formed 
all  the  character  of  the  veining  and  having 
touched  up  the  bright  parts  to  let  the  work 
dry  before  attempting  to  put  in  the  white 
veining  and  what  may  be  called  the  "high 
lights,"  or  the  lightest  parts  of  the  colored 
veins  or  chunks  in  the  conglomerates.  If 
this  was  attempted  upon  the  wet  color  and 
one  should  undertake  to  finish  the  whole 
work  at  the  one  time,  he  will  find  that  he 
cannot  produce  good  white  veins  and  that 


*jnk 


GRAINING  143 

they  mix  up  so  much  with  the  others  as  to 
become  anything  but  white.  Where  it  is 
desired  to  produce  the  impression  of  white 
veins  disappearing  into  the  rest  of  the 
work,  however,  it  will  be  well  to  put  in  some 
and  to  blend  them  in  to  produce  that  effect, 
while  the  first  color  is  still  wet  and  when  it 
has  dried  to  go  over  them  at  what  is  in- 
tended for  their  surface  points  with  some 
fresh  color,  which  will  greatly  enhance  their 
transparent  effect.  Now  the  light  veins 
are  put  in  without  fear  of  their  tones  being 
destroyed  by  mingling  with  the  wet  ground 
colors,  and  all  the  finishing  touches  should 
be  put  in.  Defects,  if  any,  can  be  corrected 
and  when  the  work  is  dry  it  may  or  may  not 
be  varnished. 

149.  The  directions  given  above  will  suf- 
fice to  give  the  student  the  manner  of  pro- 
ducing any  kind  of  marble  or  onyx  desired. 
The  spots  usually  seen  in  granites  are  pro- 
duced by  striking  a  brush  upon  a  stick  at 
some  distance  from  the  surface  which  it  is 


144  GRAINING 

intended  should  be  covered,  the  size  of  the 
dots  being  governed  by  this  distance,  and 
also  by  the  kind  of  brush  used.  A  fine 
spraying  with  turpentine  afterward  will 
cause  them  to  spread  sufficiently  to  run  to- 
gether at  the  edges  and  to  look  more  nat- 
ural than  if  left  without  this  operation. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXVIII. 

145.  How  should  the  grounds  be  put  on 
in  marbling? 

146.  How  is  the  veining  and  blending 
done  in  marbling! 

147.  How  is  the  veining  made  to  appear 
as  if  coming  up  to  the  surface  from  the  in- 
terior ? 

148.  How  are  the  finishing  touches  put 
on? 

149.  What  is  further  said  of  marbles 
and  how  are  granites  imitated? 


GRAINING  145 

LESSON  XXIX. 

THE  VAEIOUS  MARBLES. 
AGATE. 

150.  Agate  is  a  variegated  stone,  a  con- 
glomerate, and  according  as  it  is  cut  will 
sometimes  show  a  number  of  veins  usually 
circling  around  some  center.    The  ground 
is  white  lead,  and  the  various  colors  may 
be  put  in  and  blended  over.    This  is  fol- 
lowed up  with  touching  certain  parts  with 
fresh  color,  which  is  left  unblended  to  give 
a  sharp  edge.    The  colors  vary  very  much 
in  various  specimens  of  agate,  some  being 
rather  light  and  others  very  dark,  so  the 
student  has  a  good  range  to  choose  from, 
from    crimson    lake,    prussian    blue    and 
chrome  yellow  or  ochre. 

BROCATELLO. 

151.  The  ground  for  Brocatello  is  made 
from  ochre  and  white  lead,  or  it  may  be  put 
ion  with  white  lead  and  ochre  brushed  into 
it,  leaving  it  darker  in  patches  than  in 


146  GRAINING 

others.  Then  put  on  a  thin  glaze  over  it 
when  dry  made  of  raw  and  burnt  sienna 
with  enough  whiting  to  make  it  rather  trans- 
parent. When  the  color  has  set  sprinkle  it 
over  with  turpentine  by  striking  a  small 
brush  over  a  stick  it  will  cause  it  to  spread 
the  color  and  to  show  the  yellow  ground 
through.  Then  shade  the  larger  blotches 
with  a  light  yellow  ochre  to  show  the  angu- 
lar fragments  and  give  it  depth.  Then  vein 
with  color  made  of  vermillion  and  Prussian 
blue,  being  careful  not  to  put  in  the  dark 
lines  through  the  blotches. 

BLACK  AND  GOLD  MARBLE. 

152.  'As  the  name  indicates  this  marble 's 
chief  tone  is  black  with  blotches  of  yellow. 
It  is  a  conglomerate  marble.  The  ground 
should  be  put  on  with  black  paint  and  light- 
ened up  in  parts  by  working  in  a  little 
white  in  spots,  as  it  should  not  be  uniform 
in  tone,  but  the  lightest  parts  should  be  as 
dark  as  a  dark  slate.  Dab  on  the  yellow 


GEAINING  147 

spots  where  they  belong  and  connect  a  few 
of  them  by  veins,  then  blend  to  produce 
transparency ;  then  touch  up  with  some  of 
the  light  color,  which  should  not  be  blended. 
Let  dry  and  put  on  a  very  few  high  lights 
on  some  of  the  yellow  and  with  ivory  black 
used  as  a  glaze  correct  any  glaring  mistakes 
by  covering  them  over  which  will  then  ap- 
pear as  belonging  to  the  under  parts. 

DOVE  MAKBLE. 

153.  This  marble  is  one  of  the  easiest  to 
imitate  on  the  whole  list.  It  is  a  veined 
marble  and  chiefly  a  warm  gray  with  white 
veining.  The  ground  should  be  made  from 
white  lead,  lamp  black  and  warmed  up  with 
a  little  vermillion.  Put  in  the  white  veins 
and  blend;  after  blending  touch  up  parts 
of  veins  you  will  wish  to  show  as  coming 
to  the  surface,  but  do  not  blend.  When  dry 
emphasize  such  parts  as  desired  with  white. 


148  GRAINING 

EGYPTIAN  GEEEN  MARBLE. 

154.  This  is  a  conglomerate  marble 
•which  presents  many  varied  forms  accord- 
ing as  it  has  been  cut.  Under  certain  cut- 
tings it  presents  a  mass  of  crystalline  mat- 
ter of  great  beauty,  and  somewhat  more  dif- 
ficult of  execution  than  the  more  ordinary 
forms  of  it  do.  By  a  little  practice,  though, 
the  student  will  find  no  great  difficulty  in 
representing  it  correctly.  It  is  a  marble 
which  presents  in  any  of  its  forms  a  beauti- 
ful appearance,  and  one  which  the  operator 
is  pretty  sure  to  be  called  upon  to  reproduce, 
therefore  he  should  spare  no  pains  to  study 
it  well  and  to  practice  what  he  has  learned 
in  order  to  be  ready  for  any  emergency. 
The  ground  is  an  invisible  green  made  of 
black  with  a  trifle  of  yellow  added  When 
dry  put  on  a  suitable  green  glaze,  dabbing 
on  here  and  there  the  black  masses  and  put 
in  the  green  network  of  veining  with  a 
feather,  touching  them  up  with  a  camera 
hair  pencil  with  the  same  color  to  give  it 


GRAINING  149 

character  and  transparency.  It  will  be  no- 
ticed that  according  as  it  is  cut  a  mass  of 
crystalline  bodies  seem  to  show  through  the 
semi-transparent  stone,  and  this  will  test 
the  skill  of  the  marbler  to  reproduce  nat- 
urally. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXIX. 

150.  Give  a  description  of  the  marbling 
of  agate? 

151.  How  is  Brocatello  marble  imitated  I 

152.  Describe  how  black  and  gold  mar- 
ble is  imitated? 

153.  Give  a  description  of  how  dove  mar- 
ble is  done. 

154.  How  is  Egyptian  green  marble  im- 
itated? 


150  GRAINING 

LESSON  XXX. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  VARIOUS  MARBLES— CON- 
TINUED. 

ITALIAN  PINK  MARBLE  AND  SCARLET  MARBLE. 

155.  Keally  this  marble  and  the  Italian 
scarlet  marble  are  only  variations  of  sienna 
marble,  and  as  the  variation  consists  alto- 
gether in  the  coloring  of  the  marble  and  not 
at  all  in  its  veining  and  other  forms,  there 
will  be  no  need  of  telling  "how"  it  should 
be  done,  as  that  is  related  under  the  head- 
ing of  sienna  marble  in  the  following  para- 
graph.   For  color  Venetian  red  lightened 
up  to  a  pink  with  white  lead  is  used  instead 
of  that  described,  and  in  the  scarlet  variety 
vermillion  toned  down  with  Venetian  red. 

SIENNA  MARBLE. 

156.  This  marble  is  more  extensively 
imitated  than  any  of  the  others,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  white  marble  black  veined,  and 
there  is  no  wonder  that  it  is  so  with  its 


GRAINING  151 

wealth  of  forms.  No  matter  what  one  may 
fancy  or  do  it  is  pretty  sure  to  look  like 
some  specimen  of  it  has  done  before  if  the 
same  character  is  kept  up  to  the  end.  It  is 
true  some  forms  are  more  pleasant  than  are 
others,  and  that  is  true  really  in  all  mar- 
bles, so  that  the  student  should  not  spend 
much  time  in  trying  to  do  something  which 
is  considered  an  inferiority  in  the  sienna 
marble  itself.  The  most  pleasing  forms  are 
clumps  of  darker  color  overrun  with  vein- 
ings  and  intervals  of  lighter  tone  also 
veined,  but  usually  with  much  lighter  toned 
veins  than  the  set  occupying  the  darker 
clumps.  But  some  of  the  light  as  well  as 
the  darker  ones  usually  trespass  some  upon 
each  other 's  ground,  and  in  some  specimens 
clumps  of  very  fine  dots  extend  over  some 
of  the  light  areas  instead  of  veins. 

The  ground  should  be  put  in  with  white 
and  the  larger  clumps  put  in  with  raw  sien- 
na and  blended.  Then  some  of  the  intervals 
may  be  connected  with  lighter  toned  and 


152  GRAINING 

smaller  clumps,  also  made  with  the  raw 
sienna  upon  the  still  wet  ground.  Proceed 
afterward  to  put  in  darker  broad  veins  with 
the  artist's  bristle  brushes  and  blending 
them.  After  the  blending,  put  in  the  white 
veining,  which,  of  course,  will  mix  with  the 
still  wet  ground,  but  that  will  give  it  the 
transparent  effect  if  when  the  work  has 
dried  they  are  touched  up  here  and  there 
with  flake  white  to  give  them  their  charac- 
ter. The  darker  veinings  should  also  be 
touched  up  in  order  to  emphasize  them  and 
make  them  look  transparent.  Variations 
galore  will  suggest  themselves  to  the  stu- 
dent who  has  made  a  study  of  these  marbles 
from  natural  specimens. 

FLORENCE  MARBLE. 

157.  The  ground  for  this  marble  is  a 
neutral  tone  of  red  made  with  white  lead 
and  Indian  red.  The  veining  should  be  put 
in  with  burnt  umber  and  a  second  set  with 
burnt  sienna,  a  few  of  each  running  in  every 


GRAINING  153 

direction  without  any  regularity.  This  vein- 
ing  must  be  done  while  the  ground  is  still 
wet  in  order  that  the  ends  may  blend  in  with 
it  and  seem  to  disappear  into  it.  Sometimes 
the  veining  runs  out  of  clumps  and  seems  to 
break  forth,  leaving  some  parts  nearly  free 
of  veinings,  and  then  suddenly  to  spring  up 
into  a  network  as  intricate  as  seen  upon  a 
nutmeg  melon. 

TENNESSEE  MARBLE. 

158.  This  is  an  American  marble.  It  is 
usually  of  a  mauve  or  bluish  violet  tone, 
and  of  a  medium  between  dark  and  light, 
some  specimens  being  rather  dark.  As  it 
is  plentiful  and  cheap  much  of  it  does  not 
show  up  at  its  best,  but  there  are  some 
specimens  which  are  very  beautifully 
marked.  As  all  other  marbles,  it  has  an  in- 
finity of  showings.  Its  general  character  is 
an  all-over  veining.  Some  specimens,  how- 
ever, showing  a  few  patches  of  plain  white 
of  considerable  extent,  and  in  all  the  better 


154  GRAINING 

ones  some  large  thick  white  veins  with  a 
number  of  smaller  ones  running  in  a  wild 
way  radiating  from  them,  but  with  a  dis- 
tinct tendency  to  run  in  the  same  direction 
as  the  large  white  veins  spoken  of.  Then 
there  is  another  set  of  smaller  veining  of 
the  same  tone  as  the  ground,  but  much  deep- 
er scattered  nearly  all  over  it.  The  ground 
should  be  put  on  with  white  paint  and  color 
made  from  Indian  red  deepened  with  Prus- 
sian blue,  dabbed  on  nearly  all  over  it  and 
blended  into  the  white,  leaving  a  few 
patches  of  white  and  the  larger  fissure  veins 
where  desired,  although  these  can  be  put 
on  after  the  ground  has  become  dry.  Much 
of  the  smaller  veining  should  be  put  on  be- 
fore the  ground  is  dry  in  order  to  mix  with 
it  and  give  the  transparent  effect  so  much 
desired.  Afterward  the  stronger  high 
light  effects  in  the  large  white  veins  and 
in  some  of  the  parts  of  the  smaller  ones 
should  be  touched  up  with  flake  white,  and 


GRAINING  155 

the  darker  veins  should  be  touched  up  here 
and  there  also  with  the  darkest  color. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXX. 

155.  Describe    how    Italian    pink    and 
Italian  scarlet  marbles  are  imitated? 

156.  How  is  sienna  marble  imitated? 

157.  How  is  Florentine  marble  repro- 
duced? 

158.  What  is  said  concerning  the  imita- 
tion of  Tennessee  marble? 

LESSON  XXXT. 

DESCRIPTION    OP   VARIOUS    MARBLES,    GRANITES 
AND  PORPHYRIES— CONTINUED. 

SERPENTINE  MARBLE. 

159.  This  marble  is  probably  but  a  va- 
riation of  the  verd  antique,  which  it  closely 
resembles  in  all  its  colorings.    It  contains 
more  veinings  than  the  other,  although  it, 
too,  shows  up  clumps  of  conglomerate  very 
much  the  same  in  formation;  as  a  full  de- 


156  GRAINING 

scription  of  verd  antique  is  given  in  the  sub- 
sequent paragraph,  the  student  can  vary 
from  the  directions  given  in  so  far  as  to  in- 
troduce the  veinings  mentioned  which  the 
other  has  but  few  of. 

VERD  ANTIQUE. 

160.  Verd  antique  marble  is  really  a 
modified  Egyptian,  being  somewhat  more 
blotchy  than  its  cousin  the  Egyptian  green 
marble.  The  ground  should  be  made  from 
Prussian  blue  and  yellow  ochre  to  make  a 
brownish  green,  then  dab  some  of  each  of 
the  separate  colors  blue  and  yellow  where 
the  blotches  are  desired ;  then  connect  them 
by  veinings  and  blend,  touching  up  after- 
wards with  fresh  color  parts  which  should 
show  prominently,  but  be  careful  not  to 
overdo  this,  as  but  little  of  the  full  tone  of 
the  yellow  should  show  or  it  will  make  it 
look  unnatural. 


GRAINING  157 

WHITE  VEINED  MARBLE. 
BLACK  VEINED  WHITE  MARBLE. 

161.  These  two  marbles  are  bracketed 
together,  as  with  the  exception  of  the 
ground  color  and  the  reversing  of  the  color 
used  in  the  veining  they  are  so  much  alike 
that  the  same  description  will  do  for  each 
of  them.  They  are  veined  marbles,  and 
many  specimens  show  fissures  which  for  the 
sake  of  naturalness  and  variety  may  be  imi- 
tated but  very  sparingly,  as  really  it  is  a 
defect. 

The  ground  for  these  marbles  should  be 
white  lead ;  for  the  white  veined  proceed  to 
dab  on  patches  of  black  with  a  small  tool  and 
blend  the  black  with  the  white  all  over,  but 
have  the  ground  darker  in  parts  than  in 
others,  varying  from  a  gray  to  nearly  true 
black,  but  of  the  latter  sparingly.  A  few 
white  blotches  and  main  white  coarse  veins 
are  left,  and  the  white  veins  are  put  in  with 
flake  white,  which  will  blend  into  the  ground 


158  GRAINING 

and  serve  to  give  the  proper  transparency. 
When  dry  the  pure  white  veins  must  be 
touched  in  order  to  bring  them  out. 

For  the  black-veined  variety  the  white 
lead  ground  is  gone  over  here  and  there, 
but  not  too  much  of  it,  with  a  touch  of  black 
which  must  be  vigorously  worked  into  the 
white  to  produce  a  few  blotches  of  light, 
faint  gray  not  prominent  at  all.  The  vein- 
ing  is  gray  of  a  trifle  darker  tone,  which 
is  called  black  by  courtesy  and  as  a  contrast 
to  the  white  of  the  ground. 

162.  The  above  comprise  about  all  the 
leading  varieties  of  marbles.    There  are 
many  other  varieties,  chiefly  of  those  de- 
scribed, and  differing  from  them  chiefly  in 
their  coloring,  their  imitation  being  the 
same  excepting  that. 

ONYXES. 

163.  Onyxes  differ  from  those  stones 
which  are  known  as  marbles  chiefly  in  that 
they  are  more  transparent.    The  clumps  or 


GRAINING  159 

blotches  of  variously  colored  component 
parts  of  the  conglomerate  are  much  more 
diversified  than  can  usually  be  seen  in  mar- 
bles and  according  to  the  angle  at  which 
they  are  cut  present  an  endless  variation. 
Sometimes  whole  slabs  show  the  conglomer- 
ation cut  across ;  again  in  others  consider- 
able blank  space  is  found  in  close  proximity 
and  again  serpentine  waves  of  veins  look- 
ing very  transparent  run  around  the 
clumps,  etc.  Nothing  but  a  close  study  of 
the  natural  stone  can  give  one  a  perfect  idea 
of  their  vagaries  of  form.  The  general  di- 
rections given  in  paragraphs  140  to  149 
cover  all  that  could  be  said  here  as  to  the 
manner  of  imitating  them  and  the  student 
who  has  carefully  followed  the  descriptions 
which  are  specially  given  under  each  mar- 
ble will  find  no  great  difficulty  in  imitating 
the  variously  colored  onyxes. 


160  GRAINING 

GRANITES,  PORPHYRIES  AND  JASPERS. 

164.  All  the  above  are  closely  related 
and  may  be  bracketed  together  in  describ- 
ing their  imitation.  According  to  their  pre- 
dominating colors  they  are  known  as  red, 
gray,  white,  etc.,  and  have  usually  the  name 
of  the  countries  from  which  they  come 
given  them  in  addition. 

The  ground  color  should  consist  of  the 
leading  or  predominating  color,  and  the  rest 
of  the  spots  are  put  in  by  sprinkling  or 
striking  the  brush  against  a  stick.  When 
the  colors  have  commenced  to  set,  but  be- 
fore they  have  dried  and  while  still  partly 
wet,  turpentine  should  be  sparingly 
sprinkled  upon  the  work,  which  will  cause 
the  spots  to  spread  and  run  into  each  other, 
but  it  must  not  be  overdone  or  a  mess  will 
be  the  result.  A  little  fine  flaked  mica  may 
be  sprinkled  upon  the  work  after  it  is  fin- 
ished, also  before  drying  has  been  com- 
pleted; this  will  give  more  naturalness  to 


GRAINING  161 

the  granite  imitations;  the  porphyry  and 
jasper  do  not  need  it. 

QUESTIONS  ON  LESSON  XXXI. 

159.  Describe  the  character  of  serpen- 
tine marble? 

160.  How  is  verd  antique  marble  imi- 
tated? 

161.  How  are  white- veined  black  marble 
and  black-veined  white  marble  imitated  ? 

162.  What  is  said  of  other  varieties  of 
marbles  ? 

163.  How  are  onyxes  imitated? 

164.  What  is  said  regarding  the  imita- 
tion of  granites,  porphyries  and  jaspers? 

FINIS. 


INDEX 


Agate    marbling — how    done 145 

Applying  the  rubbing  in  colors  in  graining 50 

Ash  graining — general  remarks  on 93 

Ash  graining — how  grounds  are  made  for 93 

Ash  graining — how  grained  in  distemper 95 

Ash  graining — how  grained  in  oil 94 

Ash  graining — how   overgrained 95 

Ash  graining — Hungarian — how    grained 96 

Badger  haired  blenders — their  uses 28 

Bird  's-eye  maple — how  grained 101 

Black  and  gold  marble — how  imitated 145 

Black  veined  white  marble — how  imitated 150 

Blending  distemper  graining 62 

Brocatello  marble — how  imitated 145 

Brushes  used  for  laying  grounds 25 

Brushes  used  rubbing-in  color 25 

Burled  growth  of  woods 75 

Burled  Walnut — how  to  grain 122 

Burled  Walnut — how  to  overgrain 123 

Camel's  hair  pencils  used  in  graining  and  marbling.   30 
Champs — how  wiped  in  quartered  oak  graining...  41 

Check  rollers — how  to  use 53 

Chestnut  graining — general  remarks  on 156 

Chestnut  graining — how  to  grain  it 157 

Cherry  graining — how  to  prepare  grounds  for 109 

Cherry  graining — how  to  grain  it   109 

Colored  crayons — used  in  fine  veininga 71 

iii 


IV  INDEX 

Colors  used  in  preparing  grounds  in  graining 21 

Colors  used  in  graining  in  distemper    22 

Colors  used  in  graining  in  oil    23 

Combination  oil  and  distemper  work  in  oak  grain- 
ing      36 

Curled    maple — how    grained 10 

Davis  rubber  rollers  used  in  graining 32 

Description  of  material  used  in  graining 23 

Dove  marble — how  imitated 147 

Egyptian  green  marble — how  done 149 

Fan  overgrainers — their  uses 28 

Flakes — how  wiped  in  quartered  oak  graining 85 

Florence  marble — how  imitated 148 

General  remarks  on  Ash  graining    92 

General  remarks  on  Bird's-eye  maple  graining. ..  .100 

General  remarks  on  Chestnut  graining 97 

General  remarks  on  Cherry  graining    109 

General  remarks  on  Burled  Walnut  graining 122 

General  remarks  on  graining  operations 38 

General  remarks  on  preparing  grounds    41 

General  remarks  on  preparing  meglips     43 

General  remarks  on  preparing  graining    grounds..  41 
General  remarks  on  preparing  graining  colors   ....  43 

General  remarks  on  Mahogany  imitation    112 

General  remarks  on  Maple  (plain)  imitation 98 

General  remarks  on  marbles,  imitation    130 

General  remarks  on  Oak  graining   79 

General  remarks  on  Quartered  Oak  graining 84 

General  remarks  on  Eosewood  graining 133 

General  remarks  on  Satinwood  graining   110 

General  remarks  on  Sycamore  graining  104 

General  remarks  on  making  tints    42 

General  remarks  on  tools  used  in  graining 31 

Glycerine — to  retard  drying  of  distemper  colors...  48 


INDEX  V 

Graining  colors  for  oak 80 

Granites — how  imitated  160 

How  to  do  the  combing  in  distemper    58 

How  to  do  the  combing  in  oil    58 

How  to  blend  distemper  work 62 

How  to  do  the  wiping  with  rags 57 

How  to  grain  Ash    93 

How  to  grain  Ash  (Hungarian)    95 

How  to  grain  Bird  's-eye  Maple   99 

How  to  grain  Curled  Maple 99 

How  to  grain  Cherry  100 

How  to  grain  Chestnut    97 

How  to  grain  Mahogany 112 

How  to  grain  Maple  (plain)    96 

How  to  grain  Eosewood    127 

How  to  grain  Walnut    116 

How  to  grain  Walnut  (curled)   118 

How  to  grain  Satinwood   113 

How  to  grain  Sycamore    108 

How  to  marble  Egyptian  green  marble 148 

How  to  marble  Florentine   marble    152 

How  to  marble  Italian  pink  marble 150 

How  to  marble  Italian  scarlet  marble 150 

How  to  marble  Sienna  marble    150 

How  to  marble  Serpentine  marble 145 

How  to  marble  Tennessee  marble    153 

How  to  marble  Verd  antique  marble 156 

How  to  marble  white    veined    and    black    veined 

marbles  157 

How  to  imitate  Onyxes  158 

How  to  imitate  Granites  160 

How  to  imitate  Jaspers  160 

How  to  imitate  Porphyries  160 

How  to  use  the  Davis  graining  rollers 65 


VI  INDEX 

How  to  use  the  Eidgely  graining  tools 65 

How  to  use  the  colored  crayons 72 

How  to  use  the  wax  in  finishing 80 

Italian  pink  marble — how  imitated 148 

Italian  scarlet  marble — how  imitated 148 

Jasper — how  imitated  160 

Mahogany — how  to  prepare  ground  for 109 

Mahogany — how  to  grain 112 

Mahogany — how  to  make  the  featherings 115 

Maple,  plain — how  to  prepare  the  ground 99 

Maple,  plain — how  to  grain   99 

Maple,  bird  's-eye — how  to  grain 101 

Maple,  bird  's-eye — how  to  put  in  the  eyes 104 

Marbling — general  remarks  on 130 

Marbling — imitation  of  agate   145 

Marbling — imitation  of  black  and  gold  marble 146 

Marbling — imitation  of  Brocatella  marble 147 

Marbling — imitation  of  Dove  marble    148 

Marbling — imitation  of  Egyptian  green  marble ....  148 

Marbling — imitation  of  Florence  marble    152 

Marbling — imitation  of  Italian   pink  marble 150 

Marbling — imitation  of  Italian  scarlet  marble 150 

Marbling — imitation  of  Serpentine  marble    152 

Marbling — imitation  of  Tennessee  marble  153 

Marbling — imitation  of  Verd    antique   marble 156 

Marbling — imitation  of  white     and     black    veined 

marble   157 

Marbling — imitation  of  Onyxes   158 

Marbling — imitation  of  Granites 160 

Marbling — imitation  of  Porphyries 160 

Marbling — imitation  of  Jaspers    160 

Material  used  in  graining 21 

Mottlers — their  uses  29 

Mottling — how  done  in  distemper 73 


INDEX  vii 

Oak  graining — general  remarks  on 79 

Oak  graining — how  to  grain   84 

Oak  graining — how  overgrained    86 

Onyxes — how  to  imitate 160 

Old  varnished  work — how  to  treat  it  for  graining. .  41 

Old  woodwork — how  to  treat  for  graining 40 

Overgraining — the  use  made  of  it 62 

Overgraining — how  to  use  the  four  overgrainers . . .  63 

Pencilling  the  veining  in  distemper 61 

Pencilling  the  veining — how  done 61 

Porphyries — how  imitated 160 

Practice  boards — to  study  graining  upon 77 

Quarter-sawed  Oak — general  remarks  on 84 

Quarter-sawed  Oak — grained   in   distemper 88 

Quarter-sawed  Oak — how  the  dark  flakes  are  put  on  96 
Quarter-sawed  Oak — how  the  checkroller  is  used..  91 

Quarter-sawed  Oak — how  overgrained   91 

Quarter-sawed  Oak — how  wiped  out 89 

Quarter-sawed  Oak — how  finished 95 

Bags — their  use  in  graining 37 

Eidgely  rubber  graining  tools 34 

Eosewood  graining — general  remarks  on 126 

Eosewood  graining — how  to  make  the  grounds ....  127 

Eosewood  graining — how  to  grain   it    128 

Eosewood  graining — how  to  overgrain  it 129 

Eubber  graining  rollers    (Davis)    32 

Eubber  graining  combs    35 

Eubbing  in  color  in  oil  in  graining 49 

Eubbing  in  color — how  applied   52 

Satinwood — how  grained  100 

Serpentine  marble — how  imitated 146 

Sienna  marble — how  imitated 150 

Stippler — its  use  in  graining 27 

Stippling — for  walnut — how  done 119 


Vlll  INDEX 

Stippling — general  rules  for 55-75 

Sponges — their  use  in  distemper 74 

Steel  graining  combs 35 

Varnish  brushes  used  in  graining 30 

Varnishing — how  it  should  be  done 81-87 

Verd  antique  marble — how  imitated 156 

Walnut  graining — general  remarks  on 116 

Walnut  graining — grounds   for    118 

Walnut  graining — how  to  stipple  for   119 

Walnut  graining — how  grained     in     oil     and     dis- 
temper  120 

Walnut  graining — how  overgrained   121 

Wax  used  in  preparing  megilp 22 

Wax  polish— how  applied 82 

Whiting — its  uses  in  preparing  megilps 23 

White  veined  marble — how  imitated 149 

Wiping  out — what   it    means 56 

Wiping  out — how  done 57 

Woods— how   classed    .,.,,,,,,,,.,,.,..*. 83 


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